NEW YORK, July 1, 2026, 13:11 EDT
- Intel was down 7.7% at $128.88 just before 1 p.m. EDT, wiping out about $54.7 billion in market cap compared to the previous close.
- The stock was up 249.82% in 2026 and was trading 37.2% above the average analyst target, according to MarketBeat.
- Intel’s implied volatility sat at 89%, close to its 12-month high, with options activity ahead of Q2 earnings due July 23.
Intel Corporation NASDAQ:INTC dropped steeper than the rest of chip names Wednesday, losing 7.7% to $128.88 just before 1 p.m. EDT. Shares swung between $127.98 and $138.89 and were less than $1 off the session low. Based on live price and market cap, the drop from Tuesday’s close wiped away about $54.7 billion in equity value.
The comparison was intentional. The wider market was moving with Intel, not against it.
| Instrument | Latest price | Day move | Intraday range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Corporation NASDAQ:INTC | $128.88 | -7.7% | $127.98-$138.89 |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ:AMD | $550.60 | -5.2% | $547.50-$576.42 |
| NVIDIA Corp NASDAQ:NVDA | $197.00 | -1.5% | $193.54-$199.50 |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA:SMH) | $623.38 | -5.0% | $623.38-$652.70 |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX | $604.96 | -5.6% | $604.80-$635.96 |
| Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ | $728.22 | -1.1% | $725.62-$733.94 |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $748.00 | +0.2% | $742.43-$749.39 |
The Nasdaq was trading at the time of publication. Regular hours for the U.S. stock market are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, according to Nasdaq. For 2026, Nasdaq’s calendar has a full market close on July 3 for Independence Day.
The drop didn’t make Intel cheap. MarketWatch showed the stock up 249.82% for 2026 and trading close to its 52-week high of $142.35, even after it fell on Wednesday.
| Valuation check after the drop | Latest |
|---|---|
| Consensus rating | Hold |
| Ratings mix | 4 sell, 28 hold, 15 buy, 2 strong buy |
| Average 12-month target | $93.93 |
| Intel price used here | $128.88 |
| Premium to average target | 37.2% |
MarketBeat’s latest analyst table shows the average price target coming in below where the stock is trading now. The gap is getting attention since Intel hasn’t reported the quarter analysts are using to support the stock’s run-up.
Intel said June 30 it will post Q2 numbers after the bell July 23, with a call set for 2 p.m. PDT.
Intel’s last quarterly report set the bar. The chipmaker’s first-quarter revenue came in at $13.6 billion, up 7% year over year. Non-GAAP EPS was 29 cents. For the second quarter, Intel is guiding for revenue in the range of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion and non-GAAP EPS at 20 cents. Data Center and AI revenue climbed 22% to $5.1 billion. Intel Foundry reported a 16% gain to $5.4 billion before eliminations.
Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan pointed to inference and packaging as key drivers for Intel. “The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user,” he said in Intel’s first-quarter report. Tan added that this shift is boosting demand for Intel CPUs, wafer supply and advanced packaging. Intel Corporation
Time is the main risk for Intel. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co NYSE:TSM, or TSMC, still leads in foundry capacity. “TSMC is the real bottleneck,” SemiAnalysis President Doug O’Loughlin told Reuters in May. Seaport Research’s Jay Goldberg was blunt: “No company in history has ever fallen off the Moore’s law curve and made it back on.” J.P. Morgan’s Harlan Sur said it will take at least five years before it’s clear if Intel’s foundry bet will turn into a viable, profitable business for the company. Reuters
Traders are buying protection as uncertainty climbs. Gavin McMaster at Investor’s Business Daily reported Tuesday that implied volatility on Intel is at 89%. The implied-vol percentile is 97%, and the IV rank is at 90% — both close to 12-month highs.
