Intel reverses loss in 3Q26, but weak guidance drops shares and pulls the Nasdaq down
The third quarter's balance sheet exceeded expectations, but the revenue projection for the fourth quarter was below what Wall Street expected.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM MONEY TIMES · 2 MIN
Intel managed to reverse its loss in the third quarter of 2026 and presented a result above market expectations. Even so, the company's shares plummeted after the announcement, and the fall spread across the Nasdaq. According to Money Times, the balance sheet came out after the close of Thursday (29), and the impact appeared strongly in the pre-market on Friday (30).
The point that weighed was the guidance for fourth quarter revenue, which was below Wall Street analysts' estimates. According to Money Times, the drop in sales of personal computers appears as a backdrop to this weaker projection, which has raised doubts about the pace of demand in the short term.
The market reaction was harsh. Also according to Money Times, the company's shares fell by more than 20%, and in Friday's pre-market the decline was already over 25%. A movement of this size in a major company usually attracts attention because it changes the mood of the entire technology sector.
The effect was not restricted to Intel. Money Times reported that the Nasdaq fell more than 2% in the early hours of Friday, driven by the chipmaker's shares. Investing.com recorded the same picture in US stock futures, with the Nasdaq also down around 2%.
Amazon contributed to the bad mood. According to Money Times, the company's balance sheet also displeased investors and put pressure on the technology index. For Investing.com, the two companies disappointed and weighed on futures, which shows how results from big names can define the course of an entire index in a single day.
What changes for the investor
The episode shows that the projection for the following period may weigh more than a better-than-expected quarterly result. For those who invest and operate on the stock exchange and the Nasdaq, it is worth monitoring how analysts and the company itself revise their estimates in the coming days, with special attention to the demand for personal computers, cited as a backdrop to the guidance. The numbers presented do not indicate where prices are going, but they make clear the risk of concentration: when heavily weighted stocks move together, the entire index feels the impact.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
