New York, January 23, 2026, 17:09 EST — After-hours
- Intel dropped in late trading after flagging that it might fall short on AI data-center server chip supply.
- Nvidia and AMD climbed, but Microsoft outpaced them, making the AI trade look mixed heading into the weekend.
- Investors are turning to the Fed and a packed schedule of megacap earnings to see if AI investments are really delivering results.
Intel shares dropped roughly 17% in after-hours trading Friday, deepening the steep selloff sparked by a gloomy forecast linked to AI data-center demand. Nvidia pushed up 1.5%, AMD added 2.3%, and Microsoft ticked higher by 3.3% in late trading.
AI-linked stocks have been all over the place just ahead of a heavy U.S. earnings calendar, where investors will zero in on whether big tech’s AI spending is actually boosting sales and profits. “It’s been a little bit of a short but steep roller-coaster ride,” said PNC’s Yung-Yu Ma. Franklin Templeton’s Chris Galipeau added that with valuations so high, “the earnings bar had better be met.” (Reuters)
Rates factor into the picture as well. Economists surveyed by Reuters anticipate the Federal Reserve will keep its benchmark rate steady at 3.50%–3.75% during the Jan. 27-28 meeting. Many now expect the Fed to maintain this pause through the quarter. Jeremy Schwartz of Nomura noted the surface-level outlook suggests the Fed “should remain on hold.” (Reuters)
Intel revealed on Thursday it’s having trouble keeping up with demand for its server CPUs, key components in AI data centers. The company projected first-quarter revenue between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, missing analysts’ average target of $12.51 billion. CEO Lip-Bu Tan admitted to analysts, “In the short term, I’m disappointed” the firm can’t fully meet demand. CFO David Zinsner added that cloud customers “were all a little bit caught off guard.” Intel’s server CPUs are frequently paired with Nvidia’s GPUs, which handle much of the AI model processing. (Reuters)
Just two days ago, investors were buying into the turnaround story. Gabelli Funds analyst Ryuta Makino highlighted the “big Intel bull case” — a “double-digit server CPU … price hike in 2026.” UBS, meanwhile, pointed to a downside: rising memory costs could dent PC demand, since memory accounts for 25% to 30% of a PC’s bill of materials, the bank noted. (Reuters)
The broader market painted a mixed picture. The Dow slipped 0.58% on Friday, the S&P 500 ended flat, and the Nasdaq gained 0.27%, despite Intel’s sharp fall dragging sentiment down. “We’re feeling pretty good, but mindful” of potential bumps ahead, said Jason Blackwell of Focus Partners Wealth. Nvidia climbed after Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials told companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance to get ready for orders of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, according to Reuters. (Reuters)
Amazon threw another curveball late last week. Reuters revealed the company plans a second wave of corporate layoffs next week, targeting roughly 30,000 positions. CEO Andy Jassy dismissed financial or AI reasons, describing the cuts as a “culture” move tied to excess management layers. (Reuters)
Washington is back in the spotlight on chip stocks. A U.S. House panel pushed forward a bill that would grant Congress more control over licenses for exporting advanced AI chips. The latest draft also includes a ban on Nvidia’s top-tier Blackwell chips. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei slammed the move, calling it “a big mistake” to export those chips and likening it to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.” (Reuters)
The AI trade remains priced on the assumption of smooth execution. Should megacap earnings reveal hefty spending without clearer returns — or if the Fed adopts a tougher stance — those same high-multiple stocks that supported the indexes this week could drop sharply.
The Fed’s rate decision lands Wednesday, Jan. 28. After that, get ready for a packed slate of earnings from megacaps driving AI investments and cloud demand. Their reports will shape the mood for Monday’s reopening and the week ahead.
