Shares of chipmaker Intel tumbled Thursday after the company beat Wall Street's targets for the fourth quarter but gave a mixed outlook for the current period. Intel stock dropped 7% on the news.
Late Wednesday, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company earned $1.09 a share on sales of $19.5 billion, both on an adjusted basis, in the December quarter. Analysts had forecast Intel earnings of 90 cents a share on sales of $18.33 billion, according to FactSet. On a year-over-year basis, Intel earnings fell 26% as sales advanced 4%.
Intel's non-GAAP sales and earnings figures exclude its Nand memory-chip business, which it sold to SK Hynix last month.
For the current quarter, Intel forecasts adjusted earnings of 80 cents a share on sales of $18.3 billion. Analysts were looking for Intel earnings of 86 cents on sales of $17.61 billion for Q1, FactSet said.
Intel Stock Drops
On the stock market today, Intel stock plunged 7% to close at 48.05. During the regular session Wednesday, Intel stock rose 1.4% to close at 51.69.
The company also increased its quarterly cash dividend by 5% to 36.5 cents a share. The dividends will total $1.46 per share on an annual basis.
Intel's growth in the fourth quarter was driven by its data-center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses. Sales in its core PC business dropped 7% year over year to $10.1 billion.
Intel's data-center chip sales rose 20% to $7.3 billion. IoT chip sales climbed 27% to $1.41 billion.
Wolfspeed Races Higher
Elsewhere among semiconductor stocks, Wolfspeed also posted December-quarter results late Wednesday.
Durham, N.C.-based Wolfspeed reported better-than-expected sales and a smaller-than-expected loss in its fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 26. Its outlook also was better than anticipated.
But Wolfspeed stock dipped 0.4% to 89.47 on Thursday.
Intel stock ranks No. 18 out of 40 stocks in IBD's Semiconductor Manufacturing industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. Wolfspeed ranks No. 23 in the group.
Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
