Intel shares plummeted over 20% in extended trading on October 29, 2026, after the chipmaker reported third-quarter earnings and issued a weak fourth-quarter forecast citing a prolonged personal computer market slowdown and a deadly factory explosion in Kiryat Gat, Israel, that will cost approximately $600 million over two quarters.
Intel forecast quarterly revenue and profit below expectations on October 29, 2026, halting a surging stock price that had more than doubled earlier in the year. Wall Street reacted swiftly. The chipmaking giant reported third-quarter revenue of $16.51 billion, roughly meeting consensus estimates. Adjusted earnings came in at 52 cents per share, beating Wall Street projections of 40 cents.
For the third quarter concluded September 26, revenue advanced 21 per cent to reach US$16.51-billion, coming in close to projections of US$16.50-billion. Adjusted profit came in at 52 cents per share, beating estimates of 40 cents. Sales in Intel’s PC chip business fell 5 per cent to US$8.10-billion, missing estimates. The Santa Clara, California-based company said it had profit of 60 cents per share, while earnings adjusted for one-time gains and costs came to 52 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research who expected 39 cents per share. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $16.44 billion in revenue.
Investors focused heavily on tomorrow rather than yesterday. The company projected fourth-quarter revenue between US$15-billion and US$16-billion, trailing analysts’ average estimates. Adjusted profit for the final quarter of 2026 is expected to reach 25 cents per share, missing expectations of 43 cents. The weak guidance sent shares down more than 20% in after-hours trading.
Kiryat Gat Plant Explosion Costs Intel $600 Million
Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner disclosed that an explosion at the company’s fabrication plant in Kiryat Gat killed two employees and seriously injured a third earlier in the month.
unfortunate and tragic accident.
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO
Zinsner stated during the earnings call that the incident will cost the company about $600 million in lost revenue over two quarters. According to Zinsner, Intel aims to resume operations and step up manufacturing output at the site before the conclusion of the current week.
PC Shipments Drop Puts Pressure on Client Computing
Sales in the client computing division dropped 5% to $8.1 billion, missing estimates. While Bernstein modeled Intel’s Q4 2026 revenue below Street consensus due to personal computer market weakness—estimating that third-quarter PC shipments declined 20% to 22% compared to the prior year—research firm IDC calculated that PC shipments dropped approximately 20% year over year and 9% sequentially over the same period, placing mounting pressure on Intel’s client computing division.
Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner warned analysts that the slump in personal computers will persist. We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year,
Zinsner said in the earnings release, adding that the company will continue making disciplined investments in capacity and working capital to increase supply and support future growth.
Conversely, data center and artificial intelligence revenue provided a counterweight. Heavy investments totaling trillions of dollars have been poured out by major technology corporations over recent years to satisfy booming requirements for artificial intelligence and its foundational infrastructure, though CEO Lip-Bu Tan said he is disappointed that we were not able to meet strong customer demand in this quarter.
Intel Foundry Expands Contract Manufacturing Business
Intel’s multiyear turnaround strategy under CEO Lip-Bu Tan hinges heavily on expanding its contract manufacturing business, known as Intel Foundry. The company wants to sell factory capacity to outside customers, with its next fab in Arizona expected to begin operations by the end of 2028.
We’re going to have a couple of customers ready to announce the next two quarters,
Tan made these remarks during the earnings conference call, noting that Intel is achieving headway on its upcoming 14A processors, even in the wake of antyhe Trump administration acquiring a 10% equity stake in Intel last year following the firm’s lag in 7- and 10-nanometer manufacturing techniques, which accompanied substantial multi-billion-dollar financial commitments from Softbank and Nvidia.
In August, the company raised capital through about 242 million shares at $95 each, as it seeks to challenge industry leaders such as TSMC in contract chip manufacturing. Aiming to steer its contract manufacturing division—which remains a cornerstone of the turnaround plan directed by Tan as he works to recover from lagging behind Nvidia, the dominant force in AI graphics processing—Intel elevated its capital expenditure projections for 2026 to US$20-billion, up from the US$18-billion estimate issued in July, while signaling that 2027 outlays will scale up substantially to broaden production capabilities.