Intel Revenue, Income Up Sequentially

Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) posted third quarter revenue of $8.7 billion, up 9 percent sequentially compared with the second quarter, but down 12 percent year-to-year compared with the third quarter of 2005. Intel's third quarter revenue and pro forma earnings per share of 27 cents exceeded consensus analyst expectations, which called for revenue of $8.62 billion and pro forma earnings per share of 22 cents.

"We're pleased with the results of the third quarter, with record mobile and server processor shipments, strong manufacturing execution, industry acclaim for our new products, and quad-core processors now extending our leadership this quarter," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, in a statement.

Intel, which has sold off several businesses this year amid a refocusing effort, has reportedly lost market share to rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) throughout 2006. Last month, Intel announced it would cut 10,500 jobs, or a little more than 10 percent of its total work force, by mid 2007.

Intel said third quarter sequential revenue was above normal seasonal patterns in the Americas, EMEA and Japan regions following a lower-than-seasonal second quarter for the company. Microprocessor unit sales were higher than seasonally normal off a low second-quarter base, the company said.

Intel said operating results included a gain of approximately $100 million from the sale of a portion of an investment in Micron Technology, gains from divestitures of approximately $130 million and a restructuring charge of $98 million.

Intel said it expects to report fourth quarter revenue of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion, which would be in line with consensus analyst expectations of $9.46 billion but would be down from fourth quarter 2005 revenue of $10.2 billion.

Earlier Tuesday, Goldman Sachs downgraded Intel to "hold" from "buy." The No. 1 chip maker's stock closed at $20.90 Tuesday, down 3.3 percent, prior to the earnings release.