Intel shares fall 9 percent as datacenter chip sales drop 7 percent

Intel's third quarter earnings are in. The chip giant posted third-quarter revenue of $18.3 billion, which is 4 percent lower than the same period a year ago. Interestingly, PC-centric revenue was up 1 percent year-over-year to $9.8 billion but datacenter chip revenue got hit hard and was down 7 percent year-over-year to $5.9 billion. Intel's growth engine seems to be stuttering as most units saw double-digit drops in revenue. Mobileye gained 2 percent year-over-year to $234 million, but Internet of Things group revenue was down 33 percent to $677 million, the memory business took a 11 percent hit to $1.2 billion and the FPGA unit was also down a whopping 19 percent to $411 million.

Net income came in at $4.3 billion, down 29 percent year-over-year. On an adjusted basis, which filters out what the company deems one-time items, net income was down 26 percent year-over-year. Revenue was about $40 million higher than analyst's estimates while non-GAAP EPS of $1.11 was just in-line with estimates.

For the full year, Intel raised its expectations. The company now expects full year revenue of $75.3 billion, slightly higher than the previous estimate of $75 billion. This represents about 5 percent year-over-year growth.

Intel shares are down 9.8 percent to $48.62 in after-hours trading.

Intel Corporation today reported third-quarter 2020 financial results. "Our teams delivered solid third-quarter results that exceeded our expectations despite pandemic-related impacts in significant portions of the business,” said Bob Swan, Intel CEO. “Nine months into 2020, we’re forecasting growth and another record year, even as we manage through massive demand shifts and economic uncertainty. We remain confident in our strategy and the long-term value we’ll create as we deliver leadership products and aim to win share in a diversified market fueled by data and the rise of AI, 5G networks and edge computing.”

In the third quarter, the company generated $8.2 billion in cash from operations and paid dividends of $1.4 billion. In August, Intel initiated accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreements for an aggregate of $10.0 billion of our common stock. Following settlement of these agreements, Intel will have repurchased a total of approximately $17.6 billion in shares as part of the planned $20.0 billion share repurchases announced in October 2019. Intel intends to complete the $2.4 billion balance and return to historical capital return practices when markets stabilize.

Third-quarter revenue was ahead of prior expectations driven by continued strength in notebook sales, which helped offset COVID-driven headwinds affecting significant portions of our business.

In the Data Center Group (DCG), Cloud revenue grew 15 percent YoY on continued demand to support vital services in a work and learn-at-home environment. At the same time, a weaker economy due to COVID-19 impacted DCG's Enterprise & Government market segment, which was down 47 percent YoY following two quarters of more than 30 percent growth. The pandemic also weighed on third-quarter data-centric results in the Internet of Things Group and the memory business (NSG). In the third quarter, Intel continued to introduce compelling new products addressing key growth opportunities including artificial intelligence, 5G network transformation and the intelligent, autonomous edge. Mobileye revenue returned to growth in the third quarter as global vehicle production improved. The business also launched its new Mobileye SuperVision™ surround-view ADAS solution.

The PC-centric business (CCG) was up 1 percent YoY in the third quarter on continued notebook strength to support the work- and learn-at-home dynamics of COVID-19. In the third quarter, Intel launched the world’s best processor for thin and light laptops, 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors with Intel® Iris® Xe graphics (formerly known as "Tiger Lake").** More than 150 designs from major PC makers are in development, including 100 designs expected to be in market by the end of this year with more than 40 verified under the new Intel® Evo™ platform brand. These new 11th Gen Intel Core processors are manufactured using Intel's 10nm SuperFin process technology, which delivers performance improvement comparable to a full-node transition. The company detailed 10nm SuperFin and other technology advancements at its Intel Architecture Day, held in the third quarter.

Intel's third 10nm manufacturing facility, which is located in Arizona, is now fully operational and the company now expects to ship 30% higher 10nm product volumes in 2020 compared to January expectations.