Stock Market Today, Oct. 30: Intel Plunges Nearly 29% as Weak Outlook Rattles Wall Street

Intel (INTC) shares plunged 28.58% on Friday, even though the company beat Q3 earnings expectations. The damage came from Q4 guidance, which cited weakening PC demand and manufacturing constraints.

The sell-off spread beyond Intel. AMD (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) also declined, a sign that traders treated the guidance as a sector-level warning rather than a company-specific stumble.

The counterweight sits in Intel's Data Center and AI division, which posted 78% year-over-year revenue growth. That figure points to strength in data center demand, and the weak outlook traces to PC markets and manufacturing capacity. Interpretation: the market priced the guidance cut more heavily than the growth segment, but the divergence between a 78% grower and a falling PC business is the central tension in the stock now.

The sequence matters. An earnings beat followed by a nearly 29% drop shows that forward guidance, not the reported quarter, drove price action. The AMD and NVDA declines suggest traders reassessed exposure across the group instead of isolating INTC.