Intel shares closed down 6.4% on Friday, a day after the company reported dismal quarterly and full-year results. The chipmaker’s tepid quarterly numbers, with a 32% year-over-year revenue decline and a net loss of $664 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, took both analysts and investors by surprise.
Intel’s troubles, which include a surfeit of chips and weakening demand for factories pressing on its margin, are unlikely to abate soon, with the company guiding to an adjusted net loss of 15 cents per share for the upcoming quarter. Analysts did not mince words, cutting price targets almost across the board.
“No words can portray or explain the historic collapse of Intel, with management attempting to blame a worst-ever PC inventory digestion dynamic and macro/China/enterprise to an over 20% q/q decline in sales,” Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann wrote in a note Thursday evening. Rosenblatt maintained its sell rating for Intel and lowered its price target from $20 to $17.
It’s a significant test for Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who took the top job at the 54-year-old chip company in 2021. Factors outside Intel’s control have contributed to both the inventory and production issues, with a slowing PC market pressuring Intel’s margins and forcing retailers to “correct” their inventories, Gelsinger said in a call with analysts.
“While we know this dynamic will reverse, predicting when is difficult,” the CEO told analysts. Intel’s stock is down more than 46% from its 52-week high.
