New York, Jan 31, 2026, 15:36 ET — Market closed.
- Intel shares dropped Friday following a turbulent week marked by earnings and guidance swings.
- Traders enter Monday focused on rates, chip sector sentiment, and potential insights from big-tech earnings.
Intel (INTC.O) shares dropped 4.5% on Friday to close at $46.47, wrapping up a turbulent week for the chipmaker’s stock. During the session, the shares fluctuated between $45.96 and $49.58, and saw minimal movement after hours. (Investing)
This shift is crucial as Intel Corporation aims to convert AI-driven demand into actual chip shipments, while expanding its contract chipmaking—or “foundry”—operations. Investors have reacted sharply whenever supply, rather than demand, appears to be the bottleneck.
The timing is tricky for tech. Next week brings a packed slate of earnings and U.S. economic reports that could shift rate expectations once more, putting pressure on chip stocks with high valuations right away.
U.S. stocks closed down Friday following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair. Investors also weighed earnings reports and inflation figures. “Markets are calibrating to Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh … and the outlook for monetary policy,” noted Michael Hans, chief investment officer at Citizens Wealth. (Reuters)
The Producer Price Index, measuring prices businesses receive, climbed 0.5% in December, surpassing the 0.2% gain expected in a Reuters poll, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. “This report validates the pivot of the Fed away from labor market risks back toward price stability,” said Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics. (Reuters)
Regulatory news provided another, quieter push. On Friday, The Vanguard Group disclosed ownership of 404.5 million Intel shares, representing 8.11% of the company as of Dec. 31. Their amended Schedule 13G — the SEC filing passive investors use to report stakes over 5% — also noted an internal reshuffle at Vanguard in January. (Intel)
Intel flagged last week that demand for its server CPUs designed to work with Nvidia’s AI chips is outpacing supply. The company projected first-quarter revenue between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, missing analysts’ $12.51 billion consensus from LSEG. CFO David Zinsner noted cloud clients were “a little bit caught off guard,” while Michael Schulman of Running Point Capital Advisors said the recovery is “supply-constrained rather than demand-constrained.” Meanwhile, Intel continues to lose PC market share to rivals Advanced Micro Devices and Arm Holdings. (Reuters)
Intel reported a 4% drop in fourth-quarter revenue from last year, hitting $13.7 billion. The company’s non-GAAP earnings per share came in at 15 cents. CFO David Zinsner noted, “We expect our available supply to be at its lowest level in Q1 before improving in Q2 and beyond.” (Intel)
The next hurdle is external. Earnings from megacaps like Alphabet and Amazon, along with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, are set to drop in the coming days. Then, the U.S. January jobs report arrives on Feb. 6. “The onus is going to be on them to deliver,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. (Reuters)
But Intel can’t afford another misstep. If supply issues stretch into the March quarter or if new production ramps hit gross margins harder than anticipated, investors may zero in again on market-share declines and the hefty cash burn from the turnaround.
Traders head into Monday focused on rates, chip sentiment, and any new signals from peers and customers. The next key event is the Feb. 6 jobs report, while Intel’s capacity to boost supply in the second quarter remains the main company-specific issue.
