Wireless mice send tiny position updates hundreds of times a second. Losing a few of those updates produces a jump rather than a smooth slide, which is why stutter is so noticeable.
Most receivers use the same crowded radio band as Wi-Fi and many other accessories. A USB hub or an unshielded port right next to the receiver adds noise at exactly the wrong frequency.
Surface matters more than people expect. Glass, gloss and dark uniform surfaces give the optical sensor nothing to track, producing skips that look identical to radio problems.
Low batteries produce a third, distinctive pattern: fine for a while, then increasingly erratic as the transmitter loses power, often ending with a total dropout.