Intel shares plunge 21% as 18A chip delay and AMD competition dent rally

Intel’s stock fell about 21% in a week, trading near $110 after a rapid rally that had made the chipmaker the top performer in 2026. The decline is attributed to three concurrent pressures. First, the rollout of Intel’s 18A manufacturing process is lagging, with yield estimates now expected to reach profitability only in late 2026 or 2027, extending the period during which the foundry unit continues to lose money – Q1 external customer revenue was under $200 million with a steep operating loss. Second, AMD surpassed Intel in data‑center revenue in Q1 2026, generating $5.8 billion versus Intel’s $5.1 billion, signaling a weakening of Intel’s historic dominance in its most profitable market. Third, a broader sell‑off in AI‑related semiconductor stocks, sparked by a major bank’s warning of a bubble and a record profit by memory maker Samsung, reduced sector sentiment and amplified the stock’s weakness. Together, these factors erased roughly one‑fifth of Intel’s market value in days.