AMD wasn’t the only one to suffer the effects of a sluggish PC market last quarter, but Intel weathered the storm quite a bit better than its rival. The chip giant posted its third-quarter results earlier this afternoon, revealing decreases in revenue and net income of about 5% and 14%, respectively, compared to the year before. Unlike AMD, however, Intel didn’t see a dramatic sequential decline; its revenue growth was flat compared to the previous quarter, and it actually posted slightly higher net income.
Q3 2011 | Q2 2012 | Q3 2012 | |
Revenue | $14.2 billion | $13.5 billion | $13.5 billion |
Net income | $3.5 billion | $2.8 billion | $3.0 billion |
Gross margin | 63.4% | 63.4% | 63.3% |
Intel CEO Paul Otellini comments in the earnings release, "Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment." However, he adds on an optimistic note, "The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity. As we look to the fourth quarter, we’re pleased with the continued progress in Ultrabooks and phones and excited about the range of Intel-based tablets coming to market."
The official Q4 forecast seems a tad less optimistic. Intel expects revenue of $13.6 billion "plus or minus $500 million" this quarter, which leaves room for a pretty decent quarter-to-quarter slump. Gross margin is expected to fall to 55-59%, as well. For reference, Intel posted revenue of $13.9 billion with a gross margin of 64.5% for the fourth quarter of 2011. That was down from $14.2 billion and 63.4% the quarter before.