Amazon burns cash, Intel flags weak PC demand as AI boom's costs ripple across markets
QQQ•Amazon forecast holiday-quarter sales below expectations, while Intel cited near-term PC industry headwinds and said an Israel factory shutdown would cost about $600 million in revenue over two quarters. The semiconductor index fell 13% from its October high and 21% from its June all-time high.
1. AI spending pressures
Results from Amazon and Intel intensified concerns about the costs of the AI infrastructure race and weakening consumer demand. Amazon's holiday-quarter sales forecast fell short of Wall Street expectations, while the company’s cash burn reflected rising data-center spending.
2. Stocks fall after hours
Amazon shares fell 7% after hours. AI cloud companies CoreWeave, Nebius and Iren lost 5.8% to 6.7%, while Alphabet fell another 1.5% after dropping nearly 13% in regular trading. Intel shares were down 18%; the company said an explosion at a factory in Israel caused a two-week shutdown and would result in roughly $600 million in lost revenue over two quarters.
3. Chip sector under pressure
Intel blamed near-term headwinds across the PC industry, and said memory chip shortages had driven up costs. HP shares fell 8% and Dell shares 6.8%; AMD dropped 4% and Broadcom 2% after hours. The semiconductor index had declined 13% since its October high and was 21% below its June all-time high.
