Stock Market Today, May 18: Intel Slips After AI Bubble Risk Warning Offsets Early Gains

May 18, 2026
stock-market-today,-may-18:-intel-slips-after-ai-bubble-risk-warning-offsets-early-gains

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), a major PC and data center chipmaker, closed Monday at $108.17, down 0.55%. The stock slipped during the regular session as traders weighed recent earnings strength and AI-driven momentum against profit-taking after last week’s volatility and a fresh warning about potential AI “bubble risk.”

Trading volume reached 143.9 million shares, coming in about 26% above its three-month average of 113.8 million shares. Intel IPO’d in 1980 and has grown 33,130% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) inched down 0.07% to 7,403, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) fell 0.51% to 26,091 as growth stocks eased. Among semiconductors, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) closed at $420.99 (-0.73%) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) finished at $222.32 (-1.33%), underscoring broad sector pressure on chipmakers.

What this means for investors

Intel stock has been on a tear, nearly tripling this year, even after a recent pullback. The stock has dropped more than 15% in the past four trading sessions.

It’s not surprising to see profit-taking after the stock’s massive surge even as two Wall Street analysts raised price targets today. Citigroup (NYSE:C) analyst Atif Malik raises his target share price to $130 from $95 per share, while Benchmark Equity Research analyst Cody Acree is also bullish with a new $140 price target.

Both views see AI momentum continuing, giving Intel shares room for further upside. If the total market for CPUs grows by 35% annually due to demand for processors that support AI agents., as Malik thinks is possible, Intel may resume its rise soon.

Should you buy stock in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $469,293!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,381,332!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 993% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 207% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

Leave a comment