{"id":1285,"date":"2026-10-31T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T07:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onemoremoney.com\/onemorestock\/intc-q3-2026-earnings-results\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T15:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T07:00:37","slug":"intc-q3-2026-earnings-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onemoremoney.com\/onemorestock\/intc-q3-2026-earnings-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Intel (INTC) Q3 2026 Earnings: How $140B Vanished in a Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Intel (INTC) Q3 2026 Earnings: How $140B Vanished in a Day<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

How does a household-name blue chip worth almost $490 billion lose about $140 billion of market value between one closing bell and the next? That is the question Intel left behind on 30 October 2026. The shares closed at $65.76, down 28.58% or $26.31 from $92.07, per Motley Fool data. In a single regular session, the market removed roughly six times the $23 billion Intel raised in its public equity offering this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The astonishing part is what came first. Intel reported Q3 2026 results on 29 October 2026 after the US close, and they were above its own guidance. Revenue of $16.5 billion rose 21% and was in line with LSEG consensus of $16.5 billion. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.52 beat the $0.40 LSEG consensus and the company’s $0.38 guide. Data center revenue rose 78%. After the numbers came out, the shares fell more than 20% in extended trading, per CNBC, and the next day was worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNBC called it Intel’s worst day since the 1970s. In 2024 CNBC reported that the 26% fall of August 2024 was the second-worst day ever, behind a 31% drop in July 1974, so this session now takes second place on that yardstick. Yahoo Finance daily data back to 1980 shows no worse day. Volume reached about 450 million shares, more than four times the three-month average of about 108 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quarter did not break the stock. The next quarter did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Intel Q3 2026 Earnings Scorecard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>Actual<\/th>Consensus<\/th>Company guidance<\/th>YoY<\/th>Result<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Revenue<\/td>$16.5B<\/td>$16.5B<\/td>$15.8B to $16.8B<\/td>+21%<\/td>In line, above guide midpoint<\/td><\/tr>
EPS (GAAP)<\/td>$0.60<\/td>n\/a<\/td>$0.31<\/td>Down from $0.90<\/td>Above guide<\/td><\/tr>
EPS (non-GAAP)<\/td>$0.52<\/td>$0.40<\/td>$0.38<\/td>Up from $0.23<\/td>Beat<\/td><\/tr>
Gross margin (non-GAAP)<\/td>44.1%<\/td>n\/a<\/td>42.0%<\/td>Up from 40.0%<\/td>Above guide<\/td><\/tr>
Operating margin (non-GAAP)<\/td>19.6%<\/td>n\/a<\/td>n\/a<\/td>Up from 11.2%<\/td>Expanded<\/td><\/tr>
Adjusted free cash flow<\/td>$1.6B<\/td>n\/a<\/td>n\/a<\/td>Up from $0.9B<\/td>Improved<\/td><\/tr>
DCAI revenue<\/td>$7.3B<\/td>n\/a<\/td>n\/a<\/td>+78%<\/td>Standout<\/td><\/tr>
Q4 revenue guidance<\/td>$15.0B to $16.0B<\/td>$17.1B<\/td>New guide<\/td>Midpoint +13%<\/td>Miss<\/td><\/tr>
Q4 EPS guidance (non-GAAP)<\/td>$0.25<\/td>$0.43<\/td>New guide<\/td>Up from $0.15<\/td>Miss<\/td><\/tr>
Q4 gross margin guidance (non-GAAP)<\/td>38.0%<\/td>n\/a<\/td>New guide<\/td>Up from 37.9%<\/td>Down 6.1 points on Q3<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Source: Intel earnings release, 8-K dated 29 October 2026, and prior-quarter releases; consensus per LSEG via CNBC, as of 29 October 2026. “In line” means within 1% of consensus. Data as of 30 October 2026. Verify before acting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GAAP EPS is flattered by a $1.0 billion mark-to-market gain on the escrowed shares tied to the US government’s stake, worth about $0.17 a share. Non-GAAP EPS excludes that gain, which is why it sits below the GAAP figure this quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Beat That Did Not Matter: Revenue and Segments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Read on its own, this was a very good quarter. CFO David Zinsner described “our strongest data center revenue growth in 15 years,” and the company said it exceeded guidance on revenue, gross margin and EPS. Then the same report handed investors the reason to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Segment<\/th>Revenue<\/th>YoY<\/th>Share of total<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Client Computing and Physical AI (CCPG)<\/td>$8.1B<\/td>-5%<\/td>49%<\/td><\/tr>
Data Center and AI (DCAI)<\/td>$7.3B<\/td>+78%<\/td>44%<\/td><\/tr>
Intel Foundry<\/td>$6.7B<\/td>+58%<\/td>Mostly intersegment<\/td><\/tr>
All Other<\/td>$0.7B<\/td>-30%<\/td>4%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Intel Foundry revenue is mostly sales to Intel’s own product groups, so it is eliminated on consolidation. External foundry revenue was $411 million, up from $32 million a year earlier, per the 10-Q.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DCAI operating income of $3.0 billion overtook CCPG’s $2.3 billion, while Intel Foundry lost $1.9 billion. CCPG, the PC franchise, is still the largest revenue segment, but it is shrinking. That detail turned out to matter more than everything else in the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Margins, Profit and Cash Flow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Non-GAAP gross margin has climbed for three straight quarters: 37.9% in Q4 2025, 41.0% in Q1 2026, 41.8% in Q2 and 44.1% in Q3. Non-GAAP operating margin reached 19.6%, against 17.2% in Q2. On a margin chart, Q3 looks like a turnaround that was finally working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash is the thinner part of the story:<\/p>\n\n\n\n