INTC: Intel Stock Slides 5% Despite Revenue Beat, Bold Guidance. New CEO Has It Tough, Though.

“It’s not easy,” Lip-Bu Tan, the new Intel CEO, said to staff. Still, the US chip veteran posted kind of solid numbers for the second quarter. Mixed, but solid. Kind of.

💻 Intel Drops 5% Despite Revenue Win

• Intel stock INTC was floating at a 5% pre-market loss on Friday, even after the chipmaker posted a revenue beat and issued a surprisingly bullish outlook. Why the sour mood? Profit still missed, and Wall Street isn’t cutting much slack these days.
• For the second quarter of 2025, Intel reported $12.9 billion in revenue, topping the $11.97 billion consensus, but posted a 10-cent per share loss, missing expectations for a modest 1-cent profit. Management flagged one-time costs and impairments, but investors focused on the red ink.
• New CEO Lip-Bu Tan, just five months into the job, is still deep in the trenches — and markets are reacting less to what's working, and more to how much there’s still left to fix.

💡 Forecasts Brighten

• Guidance for the current quarter was solid: Intel sees revenue between $12.6 billion and $13.6 billion, above Wall Street’s midpoint estimate. It’s a sign that some recovery is in motion, especially in key product lines and AI infrastructure.
• “We are laser-focused,” said Tan, highlighting operational progress and a reshaped product roadmap. Behind the scenes, he’s been cutting bureaucracy, trimming headcount in Oregon and California, and trying to make the US chip veteran youthful and nimble again.
• Still, that loss on the bottom line — and the baggage of Intel’s past missteps — is keeping investors cautious. Good guidance only goes so far when credibility is still being rebuilt.

💪 Tough Climb Back

• Intel stock is up 13% year-to-date, a welcome reversal after its historic 60% plunge in 2024, the worst share-price performance in company history. But the stock is still a long way from regaining investor confidence.
• Tan admitted as much in a memo to staff, writing that his early months as CEO have “not been easy.” Between deep restructuring and global chip competition, it’s a heavy lift — even for a seasoned executive.
• Intel is betting big on a turnaround story. The fundamentals are starting to tilt in the right direction, but Thursday’s reaction shows that Wall Street wants more than baby steps — it wants results, fast.