AI Ate the Memory, Gutted the PC Sales, and Erased $100B—Intel’s 78% Boom Couldn’t Save $INTC

Intel shares plunged nearly 30% to $65.15 on Friday, wiping out more than $100 billion in market value after the chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue roughly $1.57 billion below Wall Street expectations. The decline came hours after Intel reported 78% growth in its data center and AI business, its fastest pace in 15 years. A fatal explosion at Intel’s Kiryat Gat factory in Israel on October 14 added an estimated $300 million to the fourth-quarter hit, leaving the forecast about $1.27 billion below analyst expectations even after that adjustment.

The quarter itself exceeded estimates, with revenue rising 21% to $16.5 billion, but Intel guided to fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, compared with analyst estimates of roughly $17 billion. Its PC chip division generated $8.1 billion last quarter, and Intel expects revenue there to decline by more than 20% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.

Intel CFO David Zinsner said, “We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year.” Analyst Shanaka Anslem said, “…strong server demand runs into manufacturing and packaging constraints. Intel cannot simply turn every extra order into an extra shipment…PC makers face expensive, scarce memory chips and weaker sales. They are reducing inventory. Intel expects its PC-focused division’s revenue to fall more than 20% from the third quarter to the fourth.” The company said the PC slowdown will end when memory supply normalizes.

The sell-off could set a record for the company. Intel shares have previously fallen 29.9% in July 1974 and 26.1% in August 2024; a close below about $64.50 would make Friday the worst day in Intel’s history. Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) wrote on October 30, 2026: “$INTC – INTEL SHARES PLUNGE 29%, SET FOR SHARPEST ONE-DAY PERCENTAGE DROP ON RECORD.” Intel’s five-year debt-default insurance cost also jumped to a record 123.5 basis points on Friday, its largest one-day move since October 2022, according to Markit data.

Despite the plunge, Intel entered 2026 at $39.38, according to Yahoo Finance data, leaving the stock up about 65% in 2026 even at $67. CEO Lip-Bu Tan told investors on Thursday’s call that “rebuilding Intel is going to be a multiyear journey.”