Intel’s stock dropped as much as 7% in after-hours trading following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which beat Wall Street expectations but came with cautious guidance for the first quarter. Despite strong results, the outlook fell short of analyst projections, triggering investor concern. Intel reported a net loss of $600 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, for the quarter—worse than the $100 million loss, or 3 cents per share, in the same period last year. However, the company exceeded expectations on revenue and adjusted earnings. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast $12.51 billion in revenue and 5 cents in adjusted earnings per share. Intel’s actual revenue came in at $13.2 billion, and it reported adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share, surpassing expectations. Still, the company’s first-quarter guidance was a key disappointment. Intel projected revenue between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, with breakeven adjusted earnings per share—well below the 5 cents analysts expected. The soft outlook was attributed to supply constraints, particularly for its next-generation 18A manufacturing technology, which CEO Lip-Bu Tan said "over-delivered" in 2025 and is now ready for volume production. Tan emphasized that Intel is working aggressively to ramp up 18A output to meet strong customer demand, including for its own Core Ultra Series 3 processors. Finance chief David Zinsner told CNBC that customers for Intel’s upcoming 14A technology—its next step beyond 18A—are expected to emerge in the second half of the year. He noted that the company would likely not announce specific customers publicly, but added that capital spending on 14A would increase once they were secured, signaling real progress. Intel’s foundry business, which manufactures chips for other companies, generated $4.5 billion in revenue during the quarter, though this includes internal production. There is growing optimism around the unit, fueled by major investments from the U.S. government, SoftBank, and Nvidia. The company confirmed that its $5 billion stock sale to Nvidia was completed during the quarter. Meanwhile, Intel’s Data Center and AI segment saw strong performance, reporting $4.7 billion in revenue—up 9% year-over-year—driven by increased demand for AI infrastructure. The Client Computing Group, which includes laptop chips, declined 7% year-over-year to $8.2 billion, reflecting ongoing challenges in the consumer market. Intel’s shares have surged 147% over the past year, fueled by hopes of a turnaround and the potential to land its first major external customer for its foundry services. The company’s recent progress in advanced manufacturing and strategic partnerships have raised expectations, but the soft guidance has tempered some of that enthusiasm.