NEW YORK, March 13, 2026, 09:29 EDT
Intel edged up to $45.71 in early premarket trading Friday, gaining 1.02% as of 7:00 a.m. EDT. That followed a sharp 5.69% drop on Thursday, closing at $45.25 and snapping a three-day winning streak. The recent pullback now leaves Intel 17.12% off its Jan. 22 peak of $54.60—deeper than declines seen in Nvidia, Broadcom, or Qualcomm.
Intel’s pivot is hard to miss—the stock’s turned into something of a gauge for comeback bets. Even after Thursday’s decline, it’s still up 88.15% from a year ago. That kind of run-up leaves little patience for slip-ups or any abrupt shifts in sentiment.
Thursday’s selloff wasn’t all about Intel. Stocks slid sharply after Iranian attacks on two tankers fueled a spike in oil, pushing prices close to $100 a barrel and stoking inflation jitters just ahead of the Fed’s March 17 decision. “Sell first, ask questions later,” was Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick’s take. Stubborn energy prices could mean the Fed keeps rates higher for longer, warned Monica Guerra, head of U.S. policy at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Reuters
Investors dumped shares just a day after Intel rolled out its Core Ultra 200S Plus desktop chips. Those new processors landed in stores March 26, with list prices starting at $299 and $199. VP Robert Hallock, who oversees client computing, described it as “the first steps in a new era of enthusiast performance.” Still, the launch buzz did nothing for the stock. Newsroom
Intel is under new scrutiny this week after a Delaware shareholder lawsuit targeted its 2025 agreement to grant the U.S. government nearly a 10% stake. The lawsuit calls the arrangement an “unlawful contract,” claiming Washington gets around $11 billion worth of shares for little in exchange. The company has yet to respond publicly, reports say. Financial Times
Intel’s future is riding on CEO Lip-Bu Tan and his push to make the company’s manufacturing matter again. CFO David Zinsner, speaking last week, said Tan may let outside clients use Intel’s advanced 18A chip process, now that yields are improving. Even so, Reuters pointed out that only a slim portion of 18A chips actually meet buyer expectations so far—yield refers to that ratio in industry jargon. Company data from Reuters shows 2025 revenue at $52.85 billion, but Intel still posted a net loss of $267 million.
Bulls still have hurdles ahead. Oil sticking at higher levels threatens to keep yields up, putting fresh pressure on chip names and weighing on the wider market. Another risk: Intel’s 18A yield or customer roster might disappoint, undermining the recovery and wiping out more of the recent rally in its shares.
Early Friday, stocks edged higher—a pause, not a pivot. Intel is in the thick of it, balancing new product headlines, a boardroom fight and a marketplace less patient with stories that haven’t delivered yet.
