Friday, October 30, 2026, the last trading day of the month, brought one of the sharpest splits of earnings season. The S&P 500 fell about 1.1% as disappointing results from Amazon and Intel added to worries that Big Tech is spending too much with too little payoff. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett added another worry when he said he expects the Fed to raise rates if this month's inflation figures run hot.
Money didn't leave the market entirely. Healthcare caught a strong bid, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund gained 1.8% in the morning. Two of Friday's biggest moves showed the rotation clearly: Intel posted one of the worst days in its history, while Regeneron climbed toward a 52-week high.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)
Intel's third-quarter report, released after the close on Thursday, October 29, was solid on its own terms. Revenue rose 21% to $16.50 billion. Non-GAAP EPS more than doubled to $0.52, and the non-GAAP gross margin improved to 44.1% from 40.0%. Data Center and AI revenue jumped 78% to $7.30 billion. CFO David Zinsner called it the company's strongest data center growth in 15 years.
The outlook caused the selloff. Intel guided fourth-quarter revenue to $15.00 billion to $16.00 billion, while analysts were expecting roughly $17.00 billion. It forecast non-GAAP EPS of $0.25 against expectations of $0.43, and a non-GAAP gross margin of just 38.0%. Management said the PC correction has accelerated over the past two months as memory shortages and tight IT budgets weigh on demand. It expects client computing revenue to fall more than 20% from the third quarter to the fourth, and it sees the PC slowdown lasting at least through the first half of 2027. Zinsner also said he does not expect positive cash flow this year. Gross capital spending is on track for $20.00 billion, with a strong increase planned for 2027.
Shares were down 30.85% at $63.67 as of 2:17 p.m. ET, against a prior close of $92.07. Yahoo Finance noted that a close below about $64.50 would make it the worst day in Intel's history, worse even than its roughly 30% drop on July 5, 1974. The stock is now 55.27% below its 52-week high of $142.35, though it remains 93.58% above its low of $32.89.
Analysts cut their targets across the board. Bank of America downgraded the stock to Neutral and lowered its target to $100.00 from $145.00. Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon called the outlook "(in a word) terrible" and cut his target to $75.00 from $110.00. KeyBanc trimmed its target to $140.00 from $155.00 but kept an Overweight rating. The average of four post-earnings targets in our data is $111.50, about 75.12% above Friday's price. Even so, the cuts show how quickly expectations reset.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN)
Regeneron reported before the open on October 30 and beat estimates by a wide margin. Third-quarter revenue rose 36% to $5.12 billion, compared with FactSet's estimate of $4.56 billion. Non-GAAP EPS climbed 70% to $20.07, well above the $16.42 consensus. Partner Sanofi booked global Dupixent sales of $6.54 billion, up 35%. Regeneron's collaboration revenue from Sanofi rose 68% to $2.72 billion. U.S. sales of EYLEA HD grew 62% to $698.80 million. Global sales of the cancer drug Libtayo rose 51% to $550.00 million.
The quarter wasn't flawless. Combined U.S. sales of EYLEA and EYLEA HD slipped 1% as the older version lost ground to competition. Regeneron also expanded its Sanofi partnership to include four next-generation, long-acting antibodies. Under that deal Regeneron receives a $1.00 billion up-front payment, to be recognized in the fourth quarter, and is eligible for up to $7.00 billion more in milestones. The company declared a $0.94 quarterly dividend, payable December 3, 2026.
Shares were up 10.86% at $907.67 as of 2:17 p.m. ET, against a prior close of $818.77. That gives Regeneron a market value near $93.45 billion and a P/E of about 20.04. The stock is just 2.96% below its 52-week high of $935.34 and 53.45% above its low of $591.52. The rally has already pushed shares past the $889.17 average target. TD Cowen's $980.00 high target implies about 7.97% upside. Expect those targets to move after Friday's report.
What to Watch
Midterm elections are on November 3, 2026, and further inflation data could shape the Fed's next move. Regeneron's dividend record date is November 20. Intel has said its 18A-P process should launch across its own products by year-end, and investors will watch for signs that PC inventory cuts are easing.
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