Intel falls short on quarterly numbers

Intel has fallen short of expectations for its upcoming quarterly financial report, reporting revenues of roughly $11bn in its third quarter, down from a previously estimated $11.2bn to $12bn. Intel estimated that gross margin will be down from 67 to 66 per cent.

The company said that the adjusted figures are primarily the result of lower than expected hardware sales. In particular, the company noted that PC sales in developed markets had fallen short of its initial estimates.

The filing comes as Intel looks to expand its reach within the IT market. The company recently signed an $8bn acquisition deal with McAfee, and media reports indicate that a deal to buy Infineon's wireless business may also be in the works.

The company said that other estimates for the quarter remain unchanged, and that it will issue its quarterly report on 3 September.

Intel is hardly alone in foreseeing a drop in demand for IT spending. Novell reported a weak quarter yesterday, and analysts have lowered expectations on spending owing to a slower than expected economic recovery.

Europe in particular has seen forecasted growth reduced sharply in the wake of lingering economic troubles in the EU.

Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King told V3.co.uk that the Intel report should serve as a warning for other large IT hardware vendors.

"Intel is very wise to go public with this," he said. "The chipmakers are typically the bellwether for the broader industry."

Not all firms may suffer, however. King said that companies with a greater foothold in the enterprise market will see less of a hit than those in the more volatile consumer space.

Additionally, King suggested that money-saving products such as server virtualisation and data de-duplication could thrive as the rest of the market struggles.