Intel’s rally appears to have hit a sudden standstill, as INTC stock has sunk over 17% on Friday after Thursday’s earnings report. While Intel posted better-than-expected Q4 2025 earnings, its Q1 forecast is what troubled Wall Street.
The chipmaker said it expects first-quarter revenue of $12.2 billion, at the midpoint of its range and below the $12.6 billion projected by Wall Street analysts tracked by Bloomberg. Intel guided for earnings per share of $0 for the period, short of the estimated $0.08. INTC dipped over 10% after hours on Thursday, and has falled 17% during Friday’s trading session.
Furthermore, Intel’s management revealed that severe supply chain constraints would critically hamper production in the first quarter of 2026. Executives guided revenue down to a midpoint of $12.2 billion, missing analyst consensus, and cautioned that earnings would effectively shrink to breakeven levels.
Fortunately, despite the poor Q1 expectations, Q4 2025 was revealed to be a solid one for Intel (INTC). CEO Lip-Bu Tan credited the rising AI demand for the success of its chips and CPU sales. Intel’s earnings per share of $0.15 for the period were slightly above the previous year’s $0.13 and ahead of the $0.09 projected, per Bloomberg data.
The chipmaker’s fourth quarter revenue of $13.7 billion marked a 4% decline from the year-ago period but was higher than the $13.4 billion expected. “Our conviction in the essential role of CPUs in the AI era continues to grow,” CEO Tan said in a statement. “Our priorities are clear: sharpen execution, reinvigorate engineering excellence, and fully capitalize on the vast opportunity AI presents across all of our businesses.”
Year-to-date, Intel was booming by over 30%. Now, INTC stock is only up 21%. Investors are hoping that this dip is temporary, as Intel expects to be a top AI stock option in 2026.