Intel shares fall sharply after weak fourth-quarter guidance overshadows stronger third quarter

Intel reported a stronger third quarter than expected, then guided the fourth quarter well below Wall Street expectations, and its shares fell sharply, according to reports on its October 29, 2026 earnings.

Third-quarter revenue was $16.51 billion, up 21% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share were $0.52, above forecasts of about $0.40 to $0.41. Data-center and AI revenue rose 78% year over year to $7.3 billion, while client-computing revenue, the PC business, fell 5% to $8.1 billion.

Why the market focused on the outlook

Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15 billion to $16 billion, against a consensus of about $17.07 billion, adjusted earnings per share to $0.25, against about $0.43, and non-GAAP gross margin to about 38%, down from 44.1% in the third quarter.

Reports attributed the weaker outlook to weaker PC demand, production disruption after an explosion at a facility in Israel earlier in October, and rising investment costs. Intel said the Israel incident was expected to reduce fourth-quarter revenue by about $300 million, with a similar impact in the following quarter, according to reports on the earnings call.

Share reaction

Shares fell sharply after hours on October 29, with reports putting the after-hours fall at about 21% to 23%, depending on the report and time of measurement. On Friday, October 30, shares closed at $65.76, down 28.6% from $92.07, described as the steepest one-day fall since 1974, according to a report citing the Associated Press.

What happens next

Intel expects the PC slowdown to continue at least through the first half of 2027, with PC shipments expected to fall about 12% in 2026 and about 10% in 2027, according to reports on the call. It also expects capital expenditure of about $20 billion in 2026, with a significant increase planned for 2027, and said positive free cash flow was not expected for 2026.