It took one day for Intel to become the S&P 500's worst-performing stock in October. Other stocks had a much better month.
Intel shares plummeted 29% on Friday to $65.58 after the chip maker reported mixed third-quarter earnings and issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter. The stock has fallen 45% in October, putting it on pace for its worst month on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The plunge Friday accounted for much of the damage. Intel shares had declined only 23% for the month through Thursday's close of trading.
Soaring memory chip costs have weighed on Intel's PC market, and the company characterized 2027 as an "investment year" while warning it doesn't expect positive free cash flow.
Reddit was October's second-worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, falling 34%. Much like Intel, most of its losses came Friday when shares plunged 28% after the company reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter user growth. The stock had been down just 9% for the month through Thursday.
Teradyne, Twilio, and Sandisk rounded out the S&P 500's five worst performers in October as concerns about artificial-intelligence spending and lofty valuations pressured technology stocks.
On the positive side, Accenture was the best S&P 500 performer in October. Shares surged nearly 40% across the month, tracking toward their best monthly performance on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock rose 4.3% to $257.96 on Friday.
Accenture kicked off the month with a bang, posting its largest single-day percentage gain ever on Oct. 1, following its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The numbers knocked it out of the park: Rising new bookings provided overdue relief that artificial intelligence won't dampen the consulting business as widely feared.
Accenture's latest earnings marked a sharp turnaround after several quarters of revenue stagnation, sluggish bookings, and persistent skepticism around AI's impact on legacy IT consulting budgets. Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind called the quarterly report "better than feared," citing robust consulting revenue and bookings momentum. The firm has a Hold rating on the stock with a $220 price target.
Even with the rally, Accenture stock has fallen 4.9% this year as of the closing bell Thursday. But a key growth opportunity could lie in AI as the company has expanded into AI safety and high-profile partnerships with Anthropic and Alphabet's Google.
But not everyone on Wall Street was on the same page. Even with Accenture shares nearly doubling since June, Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform last week while raising its price target to $252 from $245. Though the firm said the monthslong stock rally was "warranted," the analysts warned current valuations already have priced in that recovery.
Accenture trades at 16 times forward earnings, below its historical average of 23 times, Baird noted. The firm projects annual organic revenue to grow 3% to 4% through fiscal 2029, down from an average of 8% from fiscal 2014 through 2023.
Right behind Accenture among the best S&P 500 performers were PTC Inc., Hasbro, Crown Castle, and Equifax.
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