Intel's stock price plummeted by approximately 28% on Friday after the company issued a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook, reducing the value of U.S. government-held Intel shares by $12 billion.

Intel anticipates fourth-quarter revenue to be between $15 billion and $16 billion, falling short of analysts' expectations of $17 billion. Gross margin is projected to decrease from 43% to 37%, and the company expects no positive cash flow. CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated that PC sales have been impacted by rising PC prices due to the AI industry consuming memory and other components. Although data center business revenue increased by 78% year-over-year, production capacity remains constrained: a new fab in Arizona has commenced operations, but the next one is not expected to come online until 2028.