Amidst a heated Sino-U.S. trade war, Intel's second-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates on Thursday, clouding the company's maiden earnings under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

In extended trade, Intel's stock fell 5.8 percent.

Investors who are banking on Tan to turn the chipmaker around after years of mishaps have left it struggling to establish a presence in the growing AI business may find additional cause for trepidation in Intel's gloomy prognosis.

According to data provided by LSEG, the Santa Clara, California-based company anticipates sales for the June quarter of $11.2 billion to $12.4 billion, which is higher than the average forecast of $12.82 billion made by analysts.

According to CFO David Zinsner, consumers' fears of tariffs caused them to hoard Intel chips, which increased sales in the first quarter. The business anticipates a negative impact on the second quarter as a result of its inability to calculate the benefit's magnitude.

Intel also announced that it is lowering its adjusted operating expense objective to roughly $17 billion in 2025, down from its previously stated aim of $17.5 billion, and is now targeting $16 billion in 2026, amid Tan's efforts to streamline the business and reduce expenses.

The business has lowered its 2025 gross capital expenditure goal from its initial $20 billion goal to $18 billion.

The outlook for Intel's sales to China, usually its largest market, is bleak due to Beijing's heavy retaliatory taxes on U.S.-made semiconductors, even though President Donald Trump has so far spared processors from tariffs.

According to a notification issued earlier in April by the state-backed China Semiconductor Industry Association, chips made in the US will be subject to charges of 85 percent or more.

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Every year, China imports $10 billion worth of semiconductors from the US. Bernstein analysts estimate that Intel assembles about $8 billion of these central processor units (CPUs) in the United States.

In contrast to projections of six cents per share, the company anticipates second-quarter adjusted profit per share to break even.