Intel and Amazon Slide as Weak Forecasts Pressure Tech Markets

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•  29 Oct 2026
 

$INTC Intel and $AMZN Amazon are falling in after-hours trading following weak forecasts, with the Nasdaq expected to extend its decline. Technology giants are dragging markets lower, the Kospi is plunging, and Nasdaq futures are deep in the red. Global Team | October 30, 2026, 07:00 (2). Article topics: Intel, Amazon, $GOOGL Alphabet.

Three technology giants have turned earnings season into a test of confidence in the artificial intelligence boom within 48 hours. After Alphabet shares recorded their steepest daily decline on Thursday, falling 12.6%, Amazon and Intel shares are falling in after-hours trading. The wave is spreading to Asia and Wall Street futures.

Nasdaq 100 futures are down 2.1%, S&P 500 futures are down 1%, and Dow Jones futures are down 0.2%, or about 104 points. On Thursday, the Nasdaq fell 1.4%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, and the Dow Jones lost 0.3%, even though most stocks in the broader index rose. US Treasuries are gaining, with the 10-year yield falling to about 4.9%, its lowest level in more than a month.

Intel is plunging about 21% in after-hours trading despite a better-than-expected third quarter, as a strong quarter gives way to a frightening forecast. Revenue totaled $16.5 billion, up 21% from $13.7 billion a year earlier, while adjusted earnings per share reached $0.52, compared with analyst expectations of $0.40. Data center and AI revenue surged 78% to $7.3 billion, the strongest growth in that business in 15 years. The problem is what comes next: Intel forecasts fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.25 per share, against expectations of $17.1 billion and $0.43. The projected adjusted gross margin is 38%.

PC revenue fell 5% to $8.1 billion, and Intel expects a decline of about 25% in the fourth quarter. We see the slowdown in the PC market continuing at least through the first half of next year, Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said. Surging memory prices are making computers more expensive and hurting demand, while manufacturing bottlenecks limit the ability of Intel to capitalize on demand for server chips. Zinsner said the company does not expect positive cash flow this year, capital expenditures will reach about $20 billion, and spending will surge in 2027.

A 23% decline during regular trading, matching the drop recorded at one point in after-hours trading, would erase more than $112 billion from the market value of Intel. That value has doubled since the start of the year. Further reading: Intel plunges in after-hours trading after its revenue forecast.

Amazon is falling about 6% in after-hours trading after dropping 4.3% during the regular session to close at $243.79. Third-quarter revenue grew 12% to $201.9 billion, slightly below analyst expectations of $202.3 billion. Earnings per share totaled $1.89, compared with expectations of $1.96. Operating income surged to $28.1 billion, and the operating margin of 13.9% is the highest in Amazon history.

AWS, the cloud division, recorded revenue growth of 39% to $46 billion, its fastest pace in almost five years, bringing its annual revenue run rate to $184 billion. AWS operating income rose to $17.8 billion. Chief Executive Andy Jassy expects AWS to grow about 40% in each of the next two years. But investors are looking at the other side of the balance sheet: quarterly capital expenditures reached $77.3 billion, about $20 billion above expectations, while free cash flow over the past 12 months turned negative at $42.4 billion, compared with positive cash flow of $14.8 billion a year earlier.

Alphabet lost half a trillion dollars in a single day after the domino effect began on Wednesday evening. Alphabet reported negative third-quarter free cash flow of $9.1 billion, compared with expectations of negative $2.7 billion, while revenue and earnings missed expectations. On Thursday, shares plunged 12.6%, the steepest decline since the 2004 initial public offering, reducing its market value by about $500 billion. This was the second-largest daily loss of market value in US market history, after the $589 billion decline at $NVDA Nvidia in January 2025.

Google Cloud stood out positively: revenue surged 103% to $30.7 billion, above expectations of $28.7 billion, while operating income more than tripled to $11.1 billion. Quarterly capital expenditures reached $51.4 billion, and Alphabet maintained its 2026 forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion, saying spending would rise significantly in 2027. Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said details would be provided with the fourth-quarter results.

The question hanging over markets is whether investors have reached the point of no longer rewarding spending, putting a stop sign in front of the AI rally. The concern is clear: Amazon and Alphabet alone are expected to invest more than $400 billion this year, both are burning cash, and both promise to spend even more in 2027. Alphabet disclosed multiyear commitments of more than $1 trillion for infrastructure, energy, and leases. The market now demands proof that these billions are turning into revenue and cash flow, beyond cloud growth alone.

Operating data, however, do not indicate weakening demand. AWS is growing at its fastest pace in five years, Google Cloud more than doubled its revenue, and the data center business at Intel surged 78%. The problem at Intel is primarily the PC market and capacity shortages, rather than declining AI demand. $MSFT Microsoft, meanwhile, lowered its capital expenditure forecast on Wednesday to $170 billion from $175 billion, the first spending reduction among the giants.

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