Intel’s red-hot start to 2026 is hitting a road bump after the chipcreater’s Q1 outsee undershot expectations, sconcludeing shares down more than 5% in after-hours trading. The weak guidance offset a strong set of Q4 results, which included top- and bottom-line beats.
However, Intel gave Q1 2026 sales guidance of between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion ($12.2 billion midpoint) vs. a consensus expectation of $12.57 billion. The company also sees adjusted earnings per share breaking even in Q1, while the Street had anticipated $0.08.
The chipcreater is linking the soft outsee to supply constraints, with CFO David Zinsner stateing, “We expect our available supply to be at its lowest level in Q1 before improving in Q2 and beyond.”
Shares of Intel — which was partially nationalized by the Trump administration in August — had exploded out of the gates in 2026, rising nearly 50% since the start of the year, as retail traders appear to be increasingly interested in both shares and options. As of the conclude of trading on Wednesday, it was the third-best year-to-date performer in the S&P 500.
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