Intel’s stock crashes, knocking $12B from government’s stake

Intel shares fell about 28% on Friday after the chipmaker issued a fourth-quarter outlook below analysts’ expectations, marking one of the company’s worst trading days. CNBC reported that the decline cut roughly $12 billion from the value of the U.S. government’s Intel stake. The Trump administration bought a 10% stake more than a year earlier, while Nvidia also acquired a significant Intel stake in 2025. Intel shares remain up more than 70% for the year, leaving both investments profitable so far despite the sell-off. Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, compared with analyst expectations of about $17 billion. It also projected gross margin would fall to 37% from 43% and said heavy investment would prevent positive cash flow. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said customers had signaled a PC slowdown because higher memory prices and limited availability were raising system endpoint prices and straining IT budgets. Intel’s data-center revenue grew 78% from the year-ago quarter, but the company needs more fabrication capacity and external foundry customers to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. One new Intel fabrication plant in Arizona is operating, while another is not expected online until 2028.