Three Problems Explain Why Intel Stock Dropped 7.5% This Week

Intel (INTC) dropped 7.5% last week as semiconductors rallied 1.76%. The company has seen a negative sentiment shift since its disappointing earnings in late January.
AMD hit record 35.4% desktop share and nears 30% in servers. AMD’s earnings surged 217% versus Intel’s 72% drop.
Intel guides to breakeven earnings in Q1 2026 while trading at 101x forward P/E.
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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) had a rough week. The stock dropped 7.51% while the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) dipped just 1.29% and the semiconductor sector rallied 1.76%. At $46.79, Intel is still up 27% year-to-date and nearly 94% over the past year, but this week’s selloff raises questions about whether the turnaround narrative is stalling.

Three storylines explain what’s happening.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) closed 2025 with 35.4% desktop CPU revenue share. More concerning for Intel: AMD is nearing 30% share in servers, the market that matters for margins and growth. AMD’s quarterly earnings growth hit 217% year-over-year while Intel posted a 72% earnings decline.

One major problem: AMD is better meeting surging data center demand for CPUs, while Intel has run out of inventory for chips in the most demand. AMD saw Data Center sales up 39% and client sales up 34%.

That’s in stark contrast to Intel, where Client sales were down 7% from last year while Data Center sales grew 9%. Intel is betting on its Foundry for a broader rebound, but the recent round of earnings once again highlighted the recent divergence between the two company’s results.

The Competition Commission of India fined Intel ₹27.38 crore (roughly $3.3 million) for running a discriminatory warranty policy that lasted eight years. The policy required warranty claims only for products purchased from authorized Indian distributors, unlike Intel’s global policy. It’s a small fine in absolute terms, but another regulatory headache for a company already fighting on multiple fronts.

Intel’s analyst consensus rating is Reduce, with an average price target of $45.74. That’s below where the stock closed this week. Out of 47 analysts covering Intel, 32 rate it a Hold, with only 9 Buy or Strong Buy ratings. Compare that to AMD’s 41 Buy or Strong Buy ratings out of 53 analysts, and you see the sentiment gap.