BUZZ - Wall Street Perspective: Intel's Outlook Appears Dim, Recovery Once Again in Doubt

October 30 - ** Intel INTC.O forecasted (link) weak performance for this quarter on Thursday and warned of cash consumption issues this year due to a sluggish personal computer market, manufacturing problems, and expansionary expenditures, factors that overshadow strong demand for artificial intelligence chips.

** The chipmaker's stock plunged about 25% in pre-market trading.

** Before the earnings report, Intel (INTC) shares had soared about 150% this year, but in October, concerns among investors over the scale of spending on AI infrastructure caused the stock to drop about 23%.

Manufacturing risk

** Morgan Stanley (rating: "Neutral", target price: $75) stated Intel (INTC) may cede market share to fabless competitors; expects AMD AMD.O, NVIDIA NVDA.O, as well as Graviton and Axion to significantly outpace the approximate 30% CPU growth rate next year.

** TD Cowen ("Hold", target price: $75) said that challenges related to PC market slowdown and inventory adjustments may persist until 2027.

** Jefferies (rating: "Hold", target price: $85) pointed out that weak customer demand may last at least until the first half of 2027, and with supply bottlenecks and continued loss of market share, the company's long-term growth prospects remain uncertain.

** Piper Sandler (rating: "Neutral", target price: $90) noted the current performance of the stock depends on announcements related to its 14A process node foundry, with the announcement expected in the first quarter of 2027.

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