Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares fell more than 12% in U.S. premarket trading on Friday after the semiconductor group reported a fourth-quarter net loss and issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.
The chipmaker posted a net loss of $333 million for the final three months of its fiscal year, coming in below Wall Street expectations. The decline comes despite a strong rebound in Intel’s share price in recent months, which had roughly doubled following fresh capital support from high-profile backers including AI leader Nvidia, Japan’s SoftBank and the U.S. government.
Management pointed to ongoing supply constraints driven by surging demand from data centers that power advanced artificial intelligence models. Chief financial officer David Zinsner said the shortages were affecting the entire industry and warned they could persist well into 2026.
Looking ahead, Intel forecast a first-quarter loss of $0.21 per share, highlighting the pressure facing chief executive Lip-Bu Tan as he seeks to strengthen Intel’s position in an AI chip market dominated by Nvidia and rival Advanced Micro Devices. The company’s push into contract chip manufacturing has also lagged larger competitors such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
“I’m disappointed that we are not able to fully meet the demand in our markets. My team and I are working tirelessly to drive efficiency and more output from our fabs,” Tan told investors in a post-earnings call.
Investor sentiment was further weighed down by limited disclosure on several strategic fronts. Intel said it will not release expected updates on new customers for its chip foundry business until later this year, and provided few details on potential buyers for its next-generation 14A manufacturing technology.
In a research note, analysts at Vital Knowledge said “some investors were hoping for a big name” customer for the 14A, “like possibly [iPhone maker] Apple.”
There were some bright spots in the results. Intel’s data center division delivered fourth-quarter revenue of $4.7 billion, up 9% from a year earlier. Overall company revenue for the quarter ended December 27 slipped 4.1% year on year to $13.7 billion, but still exceeded analyst expectations of $13.43 billion.
Markets are also watching closely how adoption of Intel’s newest 18A manufacturing process develops after the chips became commercially available earlier this month.
Stifel analysts said they see the period from the second half of this year through the first half of 2027 as “a potential catalyst window, in which Intel will host their first Investor Day under [Tan], and could denote” a turning point for the company’s “long-term 14A volume commitments and advanced packaging ramps.”