Profit, sales anticipated to fall at Intel
SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Intel Corp., (Nachrichten/Aktienkurs) wrestling with weaker demand for its computer chips in the face of stiffer competition and a slowing PC sales environment, is anticipated to report a lower first-quarter profit and sales from a year ago, analysts say.
Intel delivers its financial results after Wednesday's closing bell.
It 'will probably be the worst set of results and forecasts that the company has delivered since the bursting of the (Internet) bubble,' Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha wrote in a recent research note. He has a buy rating on the stock.
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is estimated to report sales of $8.9 billion and earnings of 23 cents a share, a figure that includes the cost of expensing stock options, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. That compares with revenue of $9.4 billion and earnings of 34 cents last year.
The PC-chip giant has taken its knocks this year. It was forced to slash first-quarter sales forecast because of weaker demand due to progress made by its smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which has continued to grab market share from its nemesis.
In early March, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel revised its internal forecast to sales in the range of $8.7 billion to $9.1 billion, down from its previous expectation of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion.
Last week, AMD reported surging sales of chips used in servers, laptops, and desktop PCs. It beat Intel to market last year with a key technology that puts two processing engines on a single chip. This has benefited AMD in the more lucrative server segment.
Intel plans to mount its first competitive response to AMD late this summer. It is refreshing its portfolio with new sets of chips for computers and servers. Some analysts expect Intel to enact deep price cuts to clear out its older inventory ahead of the new product releases. These price cuts could be for high end desktop-PC chips, analysts speculate.
The price cuts are expected to hurt Intel's gross profit margin through the September quarter -- and it might impact AMD's profit margins too, some analysts contend.
Given its recent problems, Intel may pare its June quarter forecasts below Wall Street's current expectations, some analysts say.
'We strongly believe this isn't the worst it can get,' wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Apjit Walia, who rates Intel a sector perform.
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