Charttechniker suchten wohl einen Grund, um zu verkaufen. Dass Apple jetzt auf Intel-CPUs umstellt, dürfte INTC mittelfristig voranbringen.
Chipset issue limits Intel high-range 4Q revenue growthRodney Chan, DigiTimes.com, Taipei [Friday 9 December 2005]
Intel today narrowed its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter to be between US$10.4 billion and US$10.6 billion, as compared to the previous range of US$10.2 billion to US$10.8 billion.
The company also narrowed its gross margin percentage expectation for the fourth quarter to 63%, plus or minus a point,
with the final results expected to be slightly above the midpoint of the new range. The previous expectation was 63%, plus or minus a couple of points. Capital spending is expected to be below the midpoint of the previous expectation of US$5.9 billion, plus or minus US$200 million, while all other expectations are unchanged.
The narrowing of the fourth-quarter revenue forecast toward the mid-range of Intel’s original guidance was expected by most analysts, with Bank of America explaining that Intel had a relatively lackluster month in October. According to a recent report from the equity firm,
Intel has faced capacity constraints on its chipset production, which in turn has affected the company’s CPU sales.With the PC market performing better than Intel expected this year, the chip giant has been forced to source chipsets from ATI Technologies in order to maintain its supply of entry-level PCI Express (PCIe) motherboards. However, the company was not able to ramp production until after October.
Although the chipset supply is less of a problem now, Bank of America does not expect the issue to be completely resolved until the middle of next year, as Intel transitions chipset production to a 90nm, 300mm capable design.
Mercury Research estimates that shipments of PC chipsets based on the Intel platform will fall to 39 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, down from 41 million in the third quarter, while shipments of non-Intel chipsets will grow 37% sequentially to 34.7 million units this quarter.
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NEW YORK TIMES
December 9, 2005
Intel Narrows Sales Forecast for Quarter
By LAURIE J. FLYNN
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8 - The Intel Corporation, the world's largest chip maker, said Thursday that its fourth-quarter revenue would meet the midpoint of its expectations. The news disappointed investors who had been hoping for a rosier forecast for the company's typically strong holiday quarter.
In a scheduled update, the company said it expected revenue for the quarter of $10.4 billion to $10.6 billion, compared with a previous forecast of $10.2 billion to $10.8 billion. In its fourth quarter last year, the company reported revenue of $9.6 billion.
Shares of Intel fell 45 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $25.70, before the report was released. They declined more than 3 percent in after-hours trading.
In October, the company projected that fourth-quarter earnings would be slightly below expectations, causing a drop in the stock price. At the time, Andy D. Bryant, the chief financial officer, said it appeared that some of Intel's largest customers had stockpiled chips in the third quarter, causing a minor inventory glut.
Mr. Bryant told analysts Thursday that Intel was making progress addressing the problem. "We think we're seeing the inventory build in the third quarter being worked down," he said.
He had also said in October that the company was not able to manufacture enough chipsets to meet demand.
Speaking with analysts Thursday, Mr. Bryant conceded that if its rival, Advanced Micro Devices, was able to meet its forecasts, the supply issue could cause Intel to lose market share in the fourth quarter.
Apjit Walia, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said Intel's supply constraints were holding it back, but that the company appeared on track to resolve the problem by mid-2006. If it can achieve that, any market share loss it experiences can be gained back, he said.
"They could be in trouble if they don't fix the problem by the middle of next year," Mr. Walia said.
Analysts have expected Intel to report fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents a share on revenue of $10.6 billion. The company does not provide earnings forecasts.
Mr. Bryant told analysts that the company expected to close out the year with $39 billion in revenue, a 14 percent to 15 percent improvement over 2004.
Next year's revenue will include processor sales to Apple Computer, which earlier this fall announced that it would switch from using Motorola processors to Intel processors in its Macintosh computers.
"We do believe the Apple business will help us achieve our market share goals," Mr. Bryant said.
Intel also narrowed its fourth-quarter gross margin percentage to 63 percent, plus or minus a point.
The company said it now expected capital spending to be below the midpoint of the previous expectation of $5.9 billion, plus or minus $200 million, because of the lower-than-expected cost of some components.
The company, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., is continuing to invest aggressively in expanding its manufacturing capacity. Recently, Intel said it would spend $230 million to upgrade one of its plants in Malaysia, and last week Intel said it would build a $3.5 billion chip factory in Israel.