--- title: "Intel Stock Eyes One of Its Worst Days Since 1974: 'Houston, We Have a Problem,' Analyst Says" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/303749593.md" description: "Intel stock plummeted over 25% in premarket trading, marking one of its worst days since 1974, driven by weak Q4 guidance and supply chain shortages. Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target to $90, citing memory, wafer, and substrate constraints impacting PC and data center revenues. Other analysts also downgraded the stock or lowered targets. Despite a strong Q3, concerns over AI-driven demand exceeding supply and an incident at Fab 28 led to significant market value erosion." datetime: "2026-10-30T12:23:53.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/303749593.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303749593.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/303749593.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Intel Stock Eyes One of Its Worst Days Since 1974: 'Houston, We Have a Problem,' Analyst Says At the end of June, **Intel Corp.** (NASDAQ:INTC) had just wrapped up the best six-month run in its history. The stock soared 278% in the first half of 2026, its strongest six-month gain since 1972. That rally is now unwinding in real time. Intel shares sank 25.6% to $68.52 in premarket trading Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data. That would nearly match the 26.1% plunge of Aug. 2, 2024. Only one session in more than five decades of trading was worse: July 5, 1974, when the stock lost 29.9%. At Friday’s premarket price, about $125 billion of market value would vanish in a single day. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst **C.J. Muse** needed only five words to describe the outlook: “Houston, we have a problem.” Muse kept a Neutral rating on the stock but cut his price target to $90 from $125, arguing that shortages of memory, wafers and substrates are forcing a meaningful reset to Intel’s numbers. ## **Intel Beat the Quarter: The Outlook Is the Problem** The third quarter itself held up. Revenue came in at $16.5 billion, up 21% from a year earlier and in line with consensus. Adjusted earnings reached 52 cents per share, well above the 40 cents analysts expected, while gross margin climbed to 44.1% against a 41.8% forecast. The guidance, however, undid all of that. Intel expects fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion. The $15.5 billion midpoint sits about 9% below the $17.11 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings are guided to 25 cents per share versus 44 cents expected, and gross margin to 38% versus 42.4%. ## **Memory Prices Are Breaking the PC Market** PCs took the first hit. Soaring memory chip prices are pushing computer makers to slash inventory, and Intel guided client computing revenue down more than 20% from the previous quarter. According to Muse, the guidance implies PC unit shipments roughly 45% lower than a year earlier, a figure he called a meaningful surprise. Customers only began cutting build plans in late August, Cantor noted. The pain spread to PC makers. **HP Inc.** (NYSE:HPQ) fell 8.5% in premarket trading, and **Dell Technologies Inc.** (NYSE:DELL) lost 10.1%. In data centers, the problem is the opposite. Demand for server processors driven by agentic AI, systems that carry out tasks on their own, far exceeds what Intel can make. A lack of Intel 3 wafers and substrates caps data center growth at the mid-teens percent sequentially in the fourth quarter and roughly flat in the first quarter of 2027. An incident at Intel’s Fab 28 plant in Israel adds about $300 million of lost revenue in the fourth quarter and roughly two percentage points of margin pressure. **Read Also: ServiceNow Stock Plunges on Worst Day in Company’s History: AI Wins Can’t Hide a Bookings Slowdown** ## **Cantor Cuts Its 2027 Earnings Forecast by Nearly a Quarter** As a result, Muse now models 2027 earnings of $1.65 per share, down from $2.15 and well below the $2.13 consensus. His $90 target equals 30 times his 2028 estimate of $3. He also flagged a clear loss of server share to **Advanced Micro Devices Inc.** (NASDAQ:AMD), whose shares fell 8.6% premarket, and negative free cash flow guidance for all of 2027. Cantor expects capital spending of $28 billion to $30 billion next year, up from about $20 billion in 2026. Still, Muse is not turning bearish. Management expects both revenue and gross margin to grow in 2027, and sees the server processor market rising from about $40 billion today to roughly $200 billion over five years. ## **Wall Street Rushes to the Sidelines** Other analysts moved faster. Bank of America’s **Vivek Arya** downgraded Intel to Neutral from Buy and cut his target to $100 from $145, while Roth Capital’s **Suji Desilva** made the same downgrade and slashed his target to $70 from $120. Among 33 analysts tracked by Benzinga Analyst Ratings, 10 rate the stock a Buy, 22 a Hold and one a Sell, with an average price target of $100. Chip stocks broadly followed Intel lower. The **VanEck Semiconductor ETF** (NASDAQ:SMH) dropped 4.9% before the open. Even after Friday’s drop, Intel would remain up about 86% this year, having gained nearly 150% through Thursday. The stock, however, would trade about 52% below its 52-week high of $142.35. **Read Also: Alphabet Stock Set for Worst Day Since March 2020: Search Slowdown Overshadows Cloud Boom** *Image: Shutterstock* ### Related Stocks - [INTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTC.US.md) - [INT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INT.US.md) - [INTW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INTW.US.md) - [INYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INYY.US.md) - [LINT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LINT.US.md) - [DELL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DELL.US.md) - [HPQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HPQ.US.md) - [NOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NOW.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Weak Q4 Outlook Might Change The Case For Investing In Intel Stock (INTC)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303713977.md) - [Intel Corporation $INTC Shares Sold by Crew Capital Management Ltd](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303705730.md) - [Intel shares tumble on disappointing profit and weak PC-market outlook](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303635136.md) - [BUZZ-Street View: Intel turnaround faces fresh doubts after weak outlook](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303722308.md) - [Intel signals slower growth as PC market remains under pressure](https://longbridge.com/en/news/303619483.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**