Big Tech lost nearly $900 billion in market value on October 30 as investors recoiled from escalating AI infrastructure spending and a string of earnings misses8.
Intel bore the heaviest blow. Shares plunged roughly 29% on Friday, putting the stock on track for its worst single-day decline since 19741. The chipmaker issued weaker-than-expected guidance, citing a plant shutdown in Israel and ongoing softness in the PC market. An explosion at Intel's Israeli fab earlier in October killed two workers and seriously injured a third; the incident is expected to cost the company about $600 million in lost revenue over two quarters. Intel guided for revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion this quarter, with adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents.
Intel's AI pivot under pressure
The selloff marks a setback for CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was hired in March 2025 and has been working to reposition Intel after it missed the early wave of the AI boom. Heading into Thursday's earnings report, Intel shares had been up about 150% in 2026, lifted by demand for central processors that are becoming critical to agentic AI workloads. Intel is in high-volume production of its most advanced 18A chip out of its new fab in Arizona, though the company still has no external customers for the chip. Its next Arizona fab is expected to begin operations by the end of 2028.
D.A. Davidson downgraded Intel to neutral from buy on Friday. "We understand the PC market is being impacted at the industry level," the analysts wrote. "However it is hard to justify the current multiple when weakness is so significant".
Amazon and the broader rout
Amazon shares slipped about 1% on Friday after the company reported a third-quarter miss on the top and bottom lines. Amazon reported negative free cash flow for the second consecutive quarter and maintained its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 at $220 billion. Bloomberg framed the drop as adding to broader fear over AI spending levels5. The Nasdaq plunged on the combined weight of Amazon and Intel results3.
Alphabet Inc. also had what the Financial Times called a brutal session on the stock market6. The tech selloff deepened across the sector on earnings7.
ANALYSIS The $220 billion Amazon capex figure, paired with Intel's guidance miss and the nearly $900 billion wipeout, illustrates a market recalibrating the gap between AI infrastructure outlays and near-term returns. Prior coverage noted that AWS margins gave Amazon more runway than peers to absorb heavy spending[2]; the negative free-cash-flow streak now tests how long that runway extends.