Intel Shares Plunge 30% After Weak Revenue Forecast
Intel Corporation shares suffered their largest one-day decline on record after the company issued weak fourth-quarter guidance and warned of a prolonged slump in PC sales.
Shares of Intel Corporation plunged 30% on October 30, 2026, marking the company's largest one-day decline on record and erasing more than $146 billion in market value. The collapse followed the release of third-quarter results and a weak fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $15 billion to $16 billion, which fell over $1 billion below market estimates. Intel also warned that it does not expect positive cash flow this year.
While Intel reported third-quarter revenue rising 21% to $16.5 billion—driven by a 78% surge in data center and AI revenue—these gains were offset by a struggling PC market. Client computing revenue fell 5% to $8.1 billion, and the company forecast a 10% drop in PC shipments for 2027. Investors attributed the crash to poor planning, specifically the overproduction of consumer chips during a market slump and a failure to produce sufficient AI server chips.
Additional financial pressures include a $1.9 billion operating loss in Intel's foundry business and a projected $600 million revenue hit over the next two quarters following an explosion at a fabrication plant in Israel. The selloff triggered a global semiconductor rout affecting Nvidia, TSMC, and AMD. The Federal government of the United States, which holds a 10% stake in Intel, saw the value of its holdings decline by nearly $12 billion.
