Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) stock plummeted almost 12% on Friday in response to a gloomy first-quarter revenue outlook.
Intel Corporation (INTC) posted an adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share for the last quarter of the year, with a total sales revenue of $15.41 billion. This surpassed the FactSet analysts’ projection of 45 cents per share and sales revenue of $15.16 billion. Comparatively, in the same period of the previous year, Intel reported earnings of 10 cents per share on sales of $14.04 billion.
Intel’s fourth-quarter report indicates a turnaround, ending eight quarters of declining earnings and seven quarters of falling sales year-over-year.
However, the outlook for the first quarter appears less promising for Intel. The company foresees adjusted earnings of only 13 cents per share and sales of $12.7 billion. This projection falls short of analysts’ expectations, who were looking for earnings of 34 cents per share and sales of $14.24 billion for the March quarter. To provide context, during the same quarter last year, Intel reported a loss of 4 cents per share on sales of $11.72 billion.
Even worse, Intel expects a loss of 25 cents per share in the first quarter, according to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
First-Quarter Slip Seen as Blip
David Zinsner, the Chief Financial Officer of Intel, attributed the lower guidance for the first quarter to significant inventory adjustments in the automotive and programmable chips sectors. He also forecasted a slightly below-average outlook for Intel’s primary businesses.
Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger perceives the underwhelming Q1 forecast as a minor hiccup. He said on the call,
“Importantly, we see this as temporary, and we expect sequential and year-on-year growth in both revenue and EPS (earnings per share) for each quarter of FY (fiscal year) 2024,”
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Stock Performance
INTC stock declined -11.91% on Friday. The traders had exchanged hands with 127,465,607 (127.46 million) shares compared to the average daily trading volume of 41.65 million.
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