Intel tops Q4 earnings views; stock drops after missing revenue predictions

Intel Corporation (INTC) reported mixed results for its fourth quarter. The semiconductor giant had earned $1.28 per share on revenue of $18.7 billion. Analysts had expected Intel to post earnings of $1.22 per share on revenue of $19.01 billion for the recently ended quarter. Intel stock dropped about 7% during the after-hours.

For Q1 2019, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker expects GAAP EPS to be $0.81 and non-GAAP EPS to be $0.87. Revenue is expected to be about $16 billion.

For full-year 2019, Intel estimates GAAP EPS to be $4.35 and non-GAAP EPS to be $4.60. Revenue is expected to be about $71.5 billion.

Looking ahead into 2019, the company cautioned that the trade and macro concerns are intensifying, especially in China. Intel also expressed its worries on cloud service providers’ absorbing capacity and deterioration in the NAND pricing.

“In the fourth quarter, we grew revenue, expanded earnings and previewed new 10nm-based products that position Intel to compete and win going forward. Looking ahead, we are forecasting another record year and raising the dividend based on our view that the explosive growth of data will drive continued demand for Intel products,” said Bob Swan, Intel CFO and Interim CEO.

For the quarter ended December 29, 2018, all the segments experienced a growth except Internet of Things Group. Revenue from Mobileye, which Intel acquired in 2017, grew 43% year-over-year to $183 million.

Investors were hoping that Intel will also report strong results like other semiconductor companies, namely Lam Research (LRCX), Texas Instruments (TXN), Xilinix (XLNX) and Teradyne (TER), which reported their quarterly results on Wednesday. The quarterly revenue miss and the bleak outlook might result in Intel stock plunging to a monthly low on Friday’s trading.

Related: Intel Q4 2018 earnings conference call transcript

Shares of Intel ended Thursday’s trading session at $49.76, up 3.80%. Intel stock had gained 14% in the last one month, while the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index had gained 17%.

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