Intel Guidance Highlights Peers & Comps (INTC, AMD, MSFT, NVDA, MU, DELL)

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is raising guidance this morning.  What is interesting is that this may actually highlight the strength among its peers and competitors more than it drives Intel shares alone.  The guidance was raised based upon “stronger than expected demand for microprocessors and chipsets.”

The processor giant now sees Q3 revenue of $9.0 billion, plus or minus $200 million.  This is above its prior target of $8.5 billion plus or minus $400 million.  Thomson Reuters had estimates at $8.55 billion.

Intel stock is up 4.5% at $20.35 on about 5.2 million shares.  But the real strength is on rival Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), which is also supposedly seeing stronger demand from all the PC and netbook demand out there.  AMD shares are up 5.2% at $4.45 on right at 1 million shares.

And what about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)?  Windows 7 has to at least be a part of this as the increased demand for processors since it is probably not all going into Linux suddenly… Its shares are up 2.2% at $25.22 on only about 400,000 shares.  This may actually be a trading disappointment to some.

But if you go back to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings guidance, it already telegraphed much of this by returning to profitability one quarter sooner than expected.  NVIDIA stock is up 2.4% at $14.35 on light volume.  Be advised, this is a 52-week high above the $14.23 mark.

And what about the biggest little piggy of the tech sector in DRAM?  Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:: MU) is up 2% at $7.35 this morning.  If you can believe it, that is a new 52-week high above the $7.28 mark.

Intel’s guidance is even good on margins rather than just on revenues.  The company also noted that gross margin is now looking like it will come out at the upper half of the previous range of 53% plus or minus 2%.

You already saw that Dell was up north of 10% from where its stock was before earnings leaked out early.

The news and the charts show it.  The bull market is alive… and technology ain’t dead.

JON C. OGG