Intel’s Comeback Story Gets Clotheslined by Manufacturing Delays… Shares Get Ghosted

“Hello darkness, my old friend…”

Just when it felt like Intel’s comeback tour was finally gaining traction, the company walked onto the set, tripped over a cable, and knocked over the drum kit. Shares cratered as much as 13-14% after hours, not because earnings were bad… but because the future looked… wobbly.

Let’s start with the good news (yes, there is some).

Intel actually beat expectations for Q4. Adjusted EPS came in at 15 cents vs. 8 cents expected, and revenue hit $13.7B vs. $13.4B expected. On paper, that’s a win.

Unfortunately, like everyone on dating apps in 2026, Wall Street had impossible expectations. And Intel’s guidance was 5 foot 11 and didn’t look like a GQ model (and wasn’t making 6 figures).

For Q1, Intel guided revenue to $11.7B-$12.7B with breakeven EPS. Analysts were looking for $12.5B and 5 cents. Translation: close, but not close enough when the stock is up 147% over the past year and priced for perfection.

(Source: Investing.com)

Then came the explanations. CFO David Zinsner essentially said: yeah, demand is there… we just can’t make enough stuff right now. Manufacturing is improving, but not fast enough to satisfy near-term demand. Translation: the story’s intact… the schedule is slipping.

Tan didn’t try to put lipstick on a pig either. Yes, progress is happening. No, it’s not happening fast enough. Yields still aren’t where he wants them, which is another way of saying Intel’s turnaround clock just got reset.

And time is not something comeback trades are allowed to ask for.

That’s the part that really stings. Investors piled into Intel on the hope that its foundry business would finally start acting like a real competitor to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC for short). The much-hyped 18A process is supposedly “over-delivering,” and Intel says it’s working aggressively to ramp supply. But unless I’m missing something… “working aggressively” doesn’t ship chips this quarter.

On the bright side, the parts of Intel tied to AI are doing their job. Foundry revenue came in at $4.5B, while Data Center & AI sales jumped 9% YoY to $4.7B as cloud and AI builds keep rolling. Meanwhile, laptops remain stuck in neutral, down 7% YoY.

Also worth noting… Intel posted a $600M net loss, up from a $100M loss a year ago. Growth, technically… just heading in the wrong direction.

Yes, big names like Nvidia and SoftBank are now shareholders. Yes, 14A customers might show up later this year. Yes, Trump and Uncle Sam are still very much bought in. And yes, the long-term story technically remains intact.

But short term? The market heard “manufacturing problems,” “soft guidance,” and “time and resolve,” and immediately said “I’m out.”

For a stock priced like a miracle turnaround… Intel just reminded everyone it’s still very much in the rebuilding phase.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Intel as mentioned in the article.