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Intel panel located in front of the entrance to the offices and museum located in Silicon Valley
Andreistanescu / Dreamstime
Strong sales of its computer chips and Mobileye autonomous driving unit have helped
Intel
end a difficult 2020 on a high note.
The Silicon Valley chipmaker said fourth-quarter sales fell to $ 19.98 from $ 20.21 billion the year before. Personal computer sales, however, rose 9% to $ 10.9 billion, and the company said it sold a record number of laptop chips. Analysts had forecast PC sales of $ 9.57 billion.
Mobileye stood out, with revenue up about 50% to $ 333 million. “Mobileye is on its way to becoming an annualized over $ 1 billion business, a real accomplishment,” says Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy.
Intel (ticker: INTC) reported overall net income of $ 5.9 billion in the fourth quarter, which works out to $ 1.42 per share, compared with earnings of $ 6.9 billion, or 1, 58 dollars in the quarter of the previous year. Adjusted for restructuring and acquisition costs, earnings were $ 1.52 per share.
The results significantly exceeded Intel’s fourth-quarter sales forecast and exceeded consensus estimates, allowing outgoing CEO Bob Swan to leave the company on a positive note.
Intel shares rebounded in the closing minutes of trading on Thursday, rising 6.5% to close at $ 62.46, after Intel unexpectedly released results about seven minutes before the end of trading. negotiation.
“We far exceeded our expectations for the quarter, ending our fifth consecutive record year,” said Swan. “The demand for the computing performance provided by Intel remains very strong and our focus on growth opportunities is paying off.”
Wall Street expected Intel’s data center chip sales to fall nearly 25% in the fourth quarter, but the company reported sales of $ 6.1 billion, a decline of 16% compared to the previous year.
Intel gave investors yet another reason to celebrate, announcing that it was increasing its 2021 dividend by 5%.
Amid global chip shortages that have hampered production of products ranging from video game consoles to automobiles, Intel has released an optimistic first quarter forecast.
The company said it expected non-GAAP earnings of $ 1.10 per share on adjusted revenue of $ 17.5 billion. Adjusted revenue excludes its $ 1.1 billion flash memory sales as the company sold the unit to Sk Hynix at the end of 2020.
Swan is expected to be replaced by VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger on February 15.
On Thursday night’s conference call, Gelsinger said the company would likely continue to manufacture the majority of its 2023 chips in-house, but said, “It is likely that we would expand our use of external foundries for certain technologies and products. . ” The new CEO has promised a further update once he officially starts at the company next month.
Intel shares rose 3.2% last year, while the PHLX Semiconductor index gained 64%. the
S&P 500
is up 16% from the previous year.
Write to Max A. Cherney at [email protected]
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