Intel’s recovery hit a major speed bump Friday as the company saw $8 billion of its market value wiped away, surprising analysts.
Intel has been working to reclaim its spot as the world’s top chipmaker but has been experiencing setbacks in recent months. The company announced a surprise $500 million loss at the end of July, but that doesn’t begin to compare with the bloodbath resulting from the company’s latest announcement.
Late Thursday, Intel gave guidance for the upcoming quarter that was billions below analysts’ expectations. Analysts were expecting $14 billion in revenue, but Intel’s guidance for Q1 was in the $10.5 to $11.5 billion range.
“No words can portray or explain the historic collapse of Intel,” said Rosenblatt Securities’ Hans Mosesmann, according to Reuters, who says the analyst was among 21 analysts that cut Intel’s price target.
Intel, like many companies, is struggling with a slump in the computer market as post-pandemic demand has significantly slowed. The company is also facing a slowdown in the data center market, a segment it has traditionally dominated.
Read More: AMD Continues to Chip Away at Intel’s Server Dominance
None of that, however, compares to the challenges Intel faces catching up with its rivals in the technology department. TSMC has a significant technological lead over virtually every other chipmaker. What’s more, Intel’s biggest rival, AMD, relies on TSMC to manufacture its chips. This has helped AMD make major headway against Intel, both in the computer and data center space.
“AMD’s Genoa and Bergamo (data center) chips have a strong price-performance advantage compared to Intel’s Sapphire Rapids processors, which should drive further AMD share gains,” said Matt Wegner, an analyst at YipitData, told Reuters.
Unfortunately, analysts believe Intel’s troubles may be just beginning.
“It is now clear why Intel needs to cut so much cost as the company’s original plans prove to be fantasy,” brokerage Bernstein said.
“The magnitude of the deterioration is stunning, and brings potential concern to the company’s cash position over time.”