Intel Revenue Rises 21% to $16.51 Billion Amid Weak Fourth-Quarter Guidance
Key Facts
Intel reported revenue of $16.51 billion for the quarter ended September 26, 2026, up 21% year over year, according to a Reuters report published via Investing.com. Revenue was close to analysts’ estimate of $16.50 billion, while the company posted adjusted earnings of 52 cents a share, beating expectations of 40 cents. Adjusted earnings per share were 23 cents in the year-earlier period, according to the report. Intel said the results reflected progress in execution, expanded supply and manufacturing technology. But the earnings beat did not dispel concerns about a weak PC market and a forecast for the coming quarter below analyst consensus.
The company’s segments delivered mixed results in the third quarter: PC chip sales fell 5% to $8.10 billion, versus estimates of $8.98 billion, according to Reuters. By contrast, revenue at its data center and AI unit rose 78% year over year to $7.3 billion, according to the company’s official results. Intel Foundry revenue was about $6.7 billion, up 58% from the year-earlier period. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said demand for the company’s processors remained strong despite near-term pressures in the PC segment. The divergence highlights how the results depend on data center and manufacturing growth offsetting weakness in PC chips.
Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $17.07 billion, and projected adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share versus an estimate of 43 cents. The chief financial officer said the company expects PC-segment revenue to fall in the mid-20s percentage range in the fourth quarter. The CFO added that the PC market slowdown could persist at least through the first half of next year, with rising memory prices weighing on sales. The executive said the company would continue disciplined investment in production capacity and working capital to increase supply and support growth. The segment’s weakness thus extended from third-quarter results into the company’s near-term outlook, while the timing of a market recovery remained undefined beyond the reference to the first half of next year.
An explosion at Intel’s factory in Kiryat Gat added pressure to the outlook, with the CFO saying the incident would reduce fourth-quarter revenue by about $300 million, with a similar impact expected in the first quarter of 2027. The CFO estimated the incident would weigh on gross margin by about 200 basis points in the fourth quarter. The company said it was still evaluating the chips manufactured to determine what could be salvaged, and had not yet determined whether the incident’s impact on production and results would extend beyond current estimates. The CFO said Intel expects production at the factory to begin ramping up by the end of the week, after a two-week shutdown. These developments tie part of the weak outlook to production constraints, alongside the decline in the PC segment.
The weaker outlook and the impact of the explosion were reflected in trading: Intel shares fell 14% on Thursday, October 29, according to Reuters via AOL. The decline extended in after-hours trading to shares of Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Micron, Qualcomm and Arm, which fell between 1% and 6%. Intel shares closed at $95.53 on October 28, according to EL7 data. Against the backdrop of its expansion plans, the company raised $23 billion in an expanded share offering in August. It also increased its 2026 capital spending forecast to $20 billion from $18 billion in July, and said 2027 spending would rise significantly to expand manufacturing capacity.