Intel Stock Plunges as Hopes for a “Clean” Turnaround Meet Reality

Intel stock rose nearly 50% in the month leading up to the chipmaker’s fourth-quarter earnings report, as hopes grew that the Silicon Valley icon was poised for a comeback.

Intel’s first-quarter revenue and profit forecasts were weaker than projected. (Photo: Intel)

But shares tumbled more than 17% on Friday as investors were reminded that Intel’s road to recovery remains uneven. Laura Bratton reported for Yahoo Finance.

Support in 2025, including investments from the US government and Nvidia, helped propel Intel shares higher in recent months.

Three catalysts pushed the stock to its highest level in four years earlier this week: a supportive social media post from President Trump, growing Wall Street optimism about demand for traditional computing chips from AI data centers, and the release of Intel’s Panther Lake chips manufactured using its latest 18A process.

“It almost turned into a meme stock for a bit,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon told Yahoo Finance. “A run like that where it goes vertical into earnings—you better have a perfect print.”

Intel’s results, however, fell short of perfection. While fourth-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, the company’s first-quarter revenue and profit forecasts were weaker than projected.

Intel is also struggling to meet demand for its server chips due to internal supply constraints.

Rasgon said the shortages, which stem from Intel’s own factories, point to two potential issues: difficulty in efficiently utilizing manufacturing tools and an underestimation of AI data center demand for server CPUs.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said during a call with analysts on Thursday that the company is “working tirelessly to drive efficiency and increase output” from its manufacturing plants.