The federal government’s stake in Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) lost roughly $12 billion in paper value Friday as the chipmaker’s shares collapsed.
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Intel shares sank about 30% to roughly $64 on Friday morning after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance and pointing to ongoing softness in the PC market. The stock was headed for its worst single session ever, and the selloff landed hard on Washington, which owns nearly a tenth of the company.
In August 2025, the Commerce Department acquired 433.3 million Intel shares at $20.47 each. The deal gave the government a 9.9% stake for roughly $9 billion.
Intel closed Thursday at $92.07, valuing the position at about $39.9 billion, per Benzinga Pro data. At $64 a share, the holding fell to roughly $27.7 billion.
The one-day hit comes to about $12.2 billion.
The damage looks worse against Intel’s peak. A months-long rally pushed the stake’s value as high as $61 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. From that level, the government has now given back more than $33 billion.
Guidance Drives the INTC Drop
Intel said it expects fourth quarter adjusted EPS of 25 cents, versus the 43 cent analyst estimate, and revenue in a range of $15 billion to $16 billion, versus the $17.05 billion consensus. CFO David Zinsner said he expects the PC slowdown to last at least through the first half of next year.
Before the earnings report, Intel stock had climbed about 150% in 2026. October had already erased roughly 23% as investors grew uneasy about the size of the artificial intelligence buildout.
The broader market offered no cushion as the Nasdaq futures dropped over 2% as Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) also slid after earnings, capping a rough week for tech results.
Other Backers Feel it Too
Washington is not alone. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and SoftBank Group also invested billions in Intel last year.
Still Deep in the Green
Even after the rout, U.S. taxpayers hold a paper gain of about $18.9 billion on Intel. The stake remains worth more than three times its cost.
Intel anchors a much broader federal portfolio. The government has announced 43 deals involving stock or warrants convertible into equity, totaling around $30 billion, according to Council on Foreign Relations data cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Intel is by far the largest, leaving the portfolio’s headline returns tethered to a single volatile stock.
INTC Stock Price Activity: Intel shares were down 27.06% at $67.15 on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro market data.
Photo: Sunil prajapati / Shutterstock
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