A Look Into Intel's Record Quarter

Technology

Published: October 24, 2019 4:56 pm

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 2:07 pm

When Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) released its most recent quarterly results after markets closed Thursday, the semiconductor giant posted $1.42 in earnings per share (EPS) and a record $19.2 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $1.24 in EPS and $18.05 billion in revenue. In the third quarter of last year, Intel said it had EPS of $1.40 on revenue of $19.16 billion.

The PC-centric business (CCG) was down 5% in the third quarter due to lower year-on-year platform volume, partially offset by a strong mix of Intel’s higher performance products as the commercial segment of the PC market remained strong.

Collectively, Intel’s data-centric businesses achieved record revenue in the third quarter, up 6% year over year. The Data Center Group (DCG) delivered record revenue driven by a strong mix of high-performance Intel Xeon processors and growth in every segment of the business. The communications service provider segment grew 11% while the cloud segment returned to growth, up 3%, and enterprise and government revenue grew 1%.

The Internet of Things Group (IOTG) also achieved record revenue, up 9% on strength in retail and transportation.

Mobileye achieved record revenue, up 20% year over year on increasing ADAS adoption. Intel’s memory business (NSG) also achieved record revenue, up 19%. PSG third-quarter revenue was up 2%.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2019, the company expects to see EPS of $1.24 and revenues near $19.2 billion. Consensus estimates call for $1.21 in EPS and $18.82 billion in revenue for the quarter.

Bob Swan, Intel’s CEO, commented:

We’ve been on a multiyear journey to reposition Intel’s portfolio to take advantage of the exponential growth of data. Our third-quarter financial performance underscores our progress as our data-centric businesses turned in their best performance ever, making up almost half our total revenue in a record quarter. Our priorities are accelerating growth, improving our execution and deploying capital for attractive returns. We now expect to deliver a fourth record year in a row.

Shares of Intel closed Thursday at $52.23, with a consensus price target of $53.13 and a 52-week trading range of $42.86 to $59.59. Following the announcement, the stock was up nearly 8% at $56.38 in the after-hours session.