Intel reported its fourth-quarter revenue was $13.7 billion, down 4% from a year ago. That matched expectations, but the stock has fallen 6% in after-hours trading because Intel is forecasting a weaker Q1.
The big processor maker’s Q4 revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share were above its own guidance, showing the company is making progress in its recovery. But the Q1 guidance spooked investors.
Intel expects Q1’26 revenue between $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion and non-GAAP EPS of breakeven. The company expects its available supply to be at its lowest level in Q1 before improving in Q2 and beyond, and it is working hard to meet customers’ needs.
Fourth-quarter earnings (loss) per share (EPS) attributable to Intel was $(0.12); non-GAAP EPS attributable to Intel was $0.15. Full-year EPS attributable to Intel was $(0.06); non-GAAP EPS attributable to Intel was $0.42.
“Our conviction in the essential role of CPUs in the AI era continues to grow,” said Lip-Bu Tan, Intel CEO, in a statement. “We delivered a solid finish to the year and made progress on our journey to build a new Intel. The introduction of our first products on Intel 18A – the most advanced process technology developed and manufactured in the United States – marks an important milestone, and we’re working aggressively to grow supply to meet strong customer demand. Our priorities are clear: sharpen execution, reinvigorate engineering excellence, and fully capitalize on the vast opportunity AI presents across all of our businesses.”
The good news is that demand for AI is increasing demand for x86 processors, said Tan, in an analyst call.
“We exceeded Q4 expectations across revenue, gross margin, and EPS even as we navigated industry-wide supply shortages,” said David Zinsner, Intel CFO, in a statement. “We expect our available supply to be at its lowest level in Q1 before improving in Q2 and beyond. Demand fundamentals across our core markets remain healthy as the rapid adoption of AI reinforces the importance of the x86 ecosystem as the world’s most widely deployed high-performance compute architecture.”
The tough news is that there is a shortage of RAM, or main memory in computers and many other devices. And it’s tough to meet demand and produce enough chips to satiate AI demand.
Intel is the once-dominant chip maker that established the x86 market and held the largest markt share forever. But it stumbled in recent years trying to get its manufacturing right in an era when rivals like Nvidia and AMD relied upon outsourced manufacturing. TSMC raced ahead of Intel, and now Intel is spending tens of billions to make a comeback. And Intel also missed the pole position in the AI revolution.
The company is smaller than it once was, with multiple rounds of layoffs taking a toll while Nvidia used its position in graphics processing units (GPUs) to become the leader in AI chips. Nvidia has gone on to be the world’s most valuable company at $4.55 trillion, while AMD is worth $407 billion and Intel is now worth $259 billion. Nvidia invested in Intel as part of an alliance between the chip makers.
Tan was hired as CEO in March 2025 after former CEO Pat Gelsinger left in late 2024. Tan has been trying to right the ship but has had to lay off many thousands of Intel employees. Tan said he wants make Intel into the chipmaker of choice to fuel the AI revolution. Building a foundry business will take time, he said.
Intel is shipping the first products built on Intel 18A, a process for the first high-end manufacturing on U.S. soil, he said. In the short term, however, Tan said he was disappointed Intel is not able to meet demand for its chips. He said yields are still below where he wants them to be.
He said Intel is on a journey to rebuild itself as an iconic company.
Intel was expected to report Q4 revenue of $13.41 billion in the quarter, down about 6% year-over-year, while adjusted earnings per share are forecast to fall to 9 cents from 13 cents a year ago. Intel itself expected revenue in Q4 of $12.8 billion to $13.8 billion, gross margin of 36.5%, and earnings per share of eight cents.
In the previous third quarter ended September 30, Intel reported revenue of $13.7 billion, a 40% gross margin and earnings per share of 23 cents a share.
During the quarter, Intel at CES 2026 unveiled the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processor family, the company’s first AI PC platform built on the Intel 18A process technology, designed and manufactured in the United States.
Intel also ramped the Intel 18A process for making chips to high-volume manufacturing in Arizona and Oregon, reinforcing its position as the only company that does leading-edge logic R&D and manufacturing in the U.S.
The company said it made progress towards building a new Intel – a more focused and execution-driven company. The company laid off a lot of people and simplified its “organization and greatly reduced bureaucracy, strengthened our balance sheet, and forged strong new partnerships.”
Full-year revenue was $52.9 billion, flat YoY. YoY comparisons have not been adjusted for the deconsolidation of Altera in the third quarter of 2025.