Intel
shares tumbled Friday a day after the company gave disappointing guidance for the current quarter. Analysts said it could take a long time for the company to get back on track.
It is still the biggest computer processor maker in the world and has gotten a boost from the excitement over artificial intelligence that has benefited
Nvidia.
But unlike its rival, Intel has yet to deliver significant AI chip revenue.
On Thursday, the semiconductor company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 54 cents, compared with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 45 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue came in at $15.4 billion, which was above analysts’ expectations of $15.2 billion.
But the outlook was weak. For the current quarter, Intel gave a revenue forecast range of $12.2 billion to $13.2 billion, which was below consensus of $14.2 billion.
A day after the report, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon reaffirmed his Market Perform rating for Intel and lowered his earnings estimates for this year. “After yet another major reset this story probably just shifted to 2026,” he wrote. “We remain very comfortable on the sidelines here.”
Intel shares fell 12% to $43.65 on Friday, snapping a six-day winning streak. It was the biggest percentage drop since July 24, 2020, when shares fell 16%.
Similarly, Rick Schafer and his team at Oppenheimer kept a Neutral rating on the shares after Thursday’s earnings report. They note that Intel’s traditional markets for PCs and servers aren’t growing quickly any more, while its AI offering remains in a “prove-it” mode.
Needham analysts downgraded Intel stock to Hold from Buy. Over at Rosenblatt, longtime Intel bear Hans Mosesmann maintained his Sell rating with a target of $17.
“AI everywhere seems like everywhere except Intel,” he wrote.
Other firms also reduced their stock price targets for Intel, even if they kept their ratings unchanged. Raymond James still gives the stock an Outperform rating, but lowered its target to $50 from $62. CFRA maintained a Hold, but trimmed the target to $45 from $50.
Nvidia shares slipped 1%.
AMD
was down 1.7%, while
IBM
fell 1.6%. The technology-heavy
Nasdaq
index traded 0.4% lower.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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