Intel’s post-earnings rally hit a hard brake this week as INTC plunged more than 17% on Friday following a mixed quarterly report and a cautious 2026 start. The chip giant beat expectations for Q4 2025 but spooked investors with a weak Q1 forecast and warnings of supply-chain problems that will crimp production. Key takeaways - Q4 2025: Revenue $13.7 billion (down 4% year-over-year), modestly above the $13.4 billion analysts expected. EPS was $0.15, ahead of the $0.09 estimate and last year’s $0.13. - Q1 2026 guidance: Intel set first-quarter revenue at a midpoint of $12.2 billion, below the $12.6 billion consensus, and guided to $0.00 EPS versus the $0.08 analysts expected. - Market reaction: INTC fell more than 10% in after-hours trading on Thursday and tumbled roughly 17% during Friday’s session. Management commentary and outlook CEO Lip-Bu Tan framed Q4’s outperformance as driven by rising AI demand supporting chips and CPU sales, saying the company is doubling down on execution, engineering, and AI opportunities. Still, executives warned that “severe supply chain constraints” will markedly impair production in Q1, driving the conservative revenue and earnings outlook. Why crypto investors should care Although this is a traditional semiconductor story, it matters to crypto and blockchain markets because high-performance chips are central to AI workloads, mining, and the broader infrastructure stack that many Web3 projects rely on. Volatility in chip suppliers can ripple into hardware availability, cloud compute pricing, and investor appetite for AI- and infrastructure-focused tokens or equities. Market context INTC had been up more than 30% year-to-date before the sell-off and is now roughly 21% higher for the year. Traders are watching closely to see whether this pullback is temporary pain tied to near-term supply issues or a signal of deeper execution risks as Intel positions itself for a bigger role in the AI era. Bottom line Intel delivered a beat on Q4 fundamentals but tempered that with a cautious start to 2026. For investors in both equities and crypto infrastructure, the next few quarters will be telling: can Intel navigate supply-chain constraints and translate AI demand into sustained growth, or will near-term headwinds undercut momentum? Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#AI