Intel foundry push faces critical test after stock's 45% plunge in October

Lip-Bu Tan, chief executive officer of Intel Corp., attends the company's event in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAs Intel comes off its steepest stock drop since the 1970s due to a worsening outlook for the PC market, the chipmaker is facing intensifying pressure to get its flailing foundry business off the ground. It's been an elusive task for Intel. The company has spent half a decade, and a good chunk of its $108 billion in capital expenditures over that stretch, trying to challenge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. But it still has no marquee customer for its most advanced chips, and is primarily manufacturing chips for its own products.Wall Street is losing patience. After the U.S. government took a 10% stake in Intel in August 2025, and Nvidia followed with a $5 billion investment, the stock started to shoot up, ultimately rising sixfold over 10 months before peaking in June. Intel was finally finding its niche in the artificial intelligence boom, delivering central processors used for agentic AI, while optimism simultaneously grew over its fab aspirations. Intel's story took a dramatic turn for the worse on Thursday, w...