Semiconductor giant Intel (INTC) reported a 42% jump in earnings for the third quarter as strength across businesses and strong customer demand for Intel platforms drove revenue higher by 19%. The results exceeded analysts’ expectations. Following this, the stock jumped over 3% in the after-market session.
Net income for the quarter climbed 42% to $6.4 billion and earnings soared 47% to $1.38 per share. Non-GAAP earnings per share increased 39% to $1.40.
Topline grew 19% to $19.2 billion as the company achieved revenue growth in every business segment. Data-centric businesses grew 22%, led by a 26% growth in the Data Center Group. PC-centric revenue was up 16% on continued strength in the commercial and gaming segments.
Looking ahead into the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $19 billion. EPS is anticipated to be $1.16, and non-GAAP EPS is predicted to be $1.22.
For the full year 2018, the company now expects revenue of $71.2 billion, EPS of $4.52, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.53. Previously, the company had predicted revenue of $69.5 billion, EPS of $4.10, and non-GAAP EPS of $4.15.
“In the fourth quarter, we remain focused on the challenge of supplying the incredible market demand for Intel products to support our customers’ growth. We expect 2018 will be another record year for Intel, and our transformation positions us to win share in an expanded $300 billion total addressable market,” Interim Chief Executive Bob Swan said.
For the third quarter, the PC-centric business launched new U and Y-series 8th Gen Intel Core processors enabling faster connectivity speeds, better performance and longer battery life for thin, light laptops and 2 in 1 device. The company also recently launched the Intel Core i9-9900K processor, the world’s best gaming processor.
In Q3, the Data Center Group shipped the first Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory for revenue and Intel Xeon Scalable set 95 new performance world records as adoption continued. The Programmable Solutions Group expanded its product line with the acquisition of eASIC and the introduction of the new Intel Programmable Acceleration Card (PAC) with Intel Stratix 10 SX FPGA.
Data-centric business drives Intel’s Q2 earnings, but stocks slip
The strong demand from cloud and communications service providers for meeting the explosive demand for data and data-intensive workloads like artificial intelligence drove a 26% revenue growth in the Data Center Group.
Internet of Things Group (IOTG) also achieved a record revenue. Excluding Wind River, which Intel divested in Q2, IOTG revenue was up 19% on broad business strength. Record revenue in Intel’s memory business was up 21%. The continued strength in the data center and strong organic growth drove the Programmable Solutions Group revenue higher by 6%.
Mobileye revenue jumped 50% as customer momentum continued. Mobileye won 8 new design at the major US and global automakers in the third quarter, bringing its year-to-date design win total to 20.
Shares of Intel ended Thursday’s regular session up 4.46% at $44.31 on the Nasdaq. The stock has risen over 8% in the past year, while it has fallen over 4% in the year so far.