Intel is set to report its first-quarter earnings today, and from the world’s largest chipmaker, the industry will be looking chiefly for one thing: signs of stability.
Granted that its first quarter may be somewhat impacted by a slowdown in supplies and labor in China, strength in Intel’s new Xeon lineup could make up the difference. But what will be key for Intel — and for the rest of the technology sector — are hard signs that the turmoil that began in late 2008 is in the past. ServerWatch has the story.
Intel will announce its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday after the close of the stock market, with results expected to be in line with what the company and analysts have been predicting. After the roller-coaster ride of 2009, a little predictability is probably a good thing.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is expected to report first-quarter net income of $0.38 a share on sales of approximately $9.82 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research. That would be a 9 percent sequential decline over the fourth quarter of 2009 — hardly reason to complain as Intel’s fourth quarter is always its best and its first quarter is one of its weakest.