FILE PHOTO: Intel logo is seen behind LED lights in this illustration taken January 5, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illutration/File Photo
January 23, 2020
(Reuters) – Intel Corp <INTC.O> forecast full-year revenue above analysts’ estimates on Thursday after beating fourth-quarter earnings expectations, powered by its closely watched data center and PC chips businesses, sending its shares up nearly 7%.
The positive outlook from one of the biggest chipmakers is likely to cement what analysts had already started to see as a recovery year for semiconductors, largely driven by 5G spending for both smartphones and network upgrades.
The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker expects fiscal year 2020 revenue of about $73.5 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $72.25 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Revenue from Intel’s client computing business, which caters to PC makers and is still the biggest contributor to sales, rose 2 percent to $10 billion in the fourth quarter, beating FactSet estimates of $9.74 billion.
Revenue from its high-margin data center business rose 19 percent to $7.2 billion in the quarter, while analysts on average had expected $6.40 billion, according to FactSet.
(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Maju Samuel)
