Intel Shares Plunge 30% in Record Drop, Sparking Global Chip Selloff

Intel shares plunged 30% on Friday, heading for their worst single-day decline ever, triggering a global selloff in chip and tech stocks amid weakening PC demand and the high costs of the AI boom. The major PC chip supplier forecast quarterly revenue over $1 billion below market estimates and said it expects no positive cash flow this year, citing soaring memory prices and supply disruptions. The warning raised concerns about consumer device sellers like Dell, Sony, and Samsung, while investors were already fragile after Meta and Alphabet showed AI spending straining finances. Friday's drop was set to erase over $146 billion from Intel's market value, with the US government, its largest shareholder, facing a nearly $12 billion hit. Credit default swaps surged to an all-time high, and other chipmakers like AMD, Nvidia, and Micron fell 4% to 12%, while Intel's PC business struggled in its worst market in 15 years.