Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer processors, provided a revenue forecast for the March quarter significantly below expectations, driving its shares lower in after-hours trading Thursday.
The semiconductor company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 54 cents, compared with Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 45 cents, according to FactSet. Revenue came in at $15.4 billion which was above analysts’ expectations of $15.2 billion.
Revenue in the chip maker’s data-center and AI group unit was down 10% from a year earlier in the December quarter, while revenue in its client computing business was up 33%.
But the outlook wasn’t as good. For the current quarter,
Intel
gave a revenue forecast range of $12.2 billion to $13.2 billion, which was way below consensus of $14.2 billion.
“In 2024, we remain relentlessly focused on achieving process and product leadership, continuing to build our external foundry business and at-scale global manufacturing, and executing our mission to bring AI everywhere as we drive long-term value for stakeholders,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in the release.
Intel shares fell 9% to $45.09 in premarket trading following the report.
In a phone interview Thursday, Intel executive John Pitzer told Barron’s the company didn’t lose market share in the fourth quarter in its server chip business on a quarter-over-quarter basis. He also said Intel’s first quarter guidance includes revenue headwinds from its Foundry business, but the outlook for its core server and PC chip business was roughly within a historical range for quarter-over-quarter growth.
Intel stock is up 67% over the past 12 months as of Thursday’s closing price, compared with the 53% rise for the
iShares Semiconductor ETF.
Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com
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