Intel loses nearly a third of its value in its worst day since 1974, and Wall Street ends a rough week deep in the red

Friday punished the trade that has carried this market all year. Intel, the chipmaker the federal government partly owns and the symbol of the attempt to rebuild American chip production at home, lost 28.58 percent of its value in one session, closing at 65.76 dollars. CNBC called it the stock's worst day since 1974. The shares had gained about 150 percent this year before the report.

The quarter Intel just finished was not the problem. Third quarter revenue rose 21 percent from a year earlier to 16.5 billion dollars, and adjusted earnings of 52 cents a share beat the 40 cents analysts expected. The forecast was the problem. Intel guided fourth quarter revenue to between 15 billion and 16 billion dollars, against the roughly 17.1 billion dollars analysts had pencilled in, and adjusted earnings to 25 cents a share against 43 cents expected. Adjusted gross margin is expected to fall to 38.0 percent from 44.1 percent in the third quarter.

Finance chief David Zinsner pointed to a personal computer market that is shrinking under high memory prices. We see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year, he said. Intel projects PC shipments to fall about 12 percent this year and another 10 percent next year, and PC chip revenue to drop by more than 20 percent in the fourth quarter alone. The outlook also carries about 600 million dollars of lost revenue across two quarters from an explosion this month at Intel's plant in Israel, which killed two workers and seriously injured a third. One analyst quoted in the coverage called the outlook, in a word, terrible. Bank of America cut its rating on the stock and lowered its price target from 145 dollars to 100 dollars. The decline also cut roughly 12 billion dollars from the value of the federal government's 10 percent stake, though that stake remains in profit.

The damage spread well beyond one company. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.86 percent to 25,437.00 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.46 percent, as of the October 30 close. The S and P 500 fell 1.82 percent to 7,580.07, its worst day since June, and the Dow fell 1.09 percent to 51,770.31. Technology was the weakest sector, down 4.24 percent, while energy rose on the day's oil prices. Amazon fell after reporting weaker summer earnings and heavy artificial intelligence spending, and chip stocks fell across the board, with the main semiconductor fund down more than 8 percent. The Nasdaq finished October down 5.3 percent, its biggest monthly fall since March 2025.

Crypto and gold moved with the mood. Bitcoin traded below 77,000 dollars, down from highs near 82,000 dollars the day before, as the Binance theft worked through crypto stocks. Coinbase fell more than 10 percent. Gold futures fell 3.7 percent to 3,883 dollars an ounce, their lowest level in about a year. The figures in this story are market closes and company guidance, reported as information only. They are not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.