Intel Corporation (INTC) Earnings Beat, Stock Jumps

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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) released its earnings numbers for the first quarter of 2014 this afternoon after the market closed in New York. The company showed earnings of 38 cents per share for the three month period. Revenue in the first quarter came to $12.8 billion. On Tuesday’s market the chip-maker’s stock traded slightly up to finish the day at $26.77 per share.

In the run-up to the release of this report, 37 analysts following the company were looking for earnings of 37 cents per share from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). The same analysts, who gave their estimates to Bloomberg, were looking for revenue of $12.8 billion from the first quarter of the year. In the same three months of 2013 Intel managed to earn 40 cents per share on revenue totaling $12.6 billion.

Intel stock continues to have tough time

Today’s earnings drove Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) stock up by more than 2% in after market trading. The increase goes a long way toward pushing the company toward a high it hasn’t seen since the middle of 2012.

Despite a 24% increase in the last twelve months’ trading, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is still well below its high in the middle of 2012. The company’s inability to get into the mobile market, and the faster-than-expected decline in the PC market have hit investors hard, though there appears to be some chance of recovery in the opening months of 2014.

Intel needs diversification to spur growth

The PC market is in irrevocable decline, and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), despite recent efforts, did not move quickly enough to get a strong hold in the mobile market. The semiconductor company needs to diversify its revenue streams in order to grow. The firm is already laying the groundwork for that diversification, though it might be some time before it manages significant revenue from many areas.

Intel’s main areas of concentration are in mobile and the semiconductor foundry business. It is already established to some degree in both businesses, though neither has managed to form a major part of the company’s revenue as of the first quarter of 2014. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is also putting effort into other areas, which may pay off down the line, but currently offer little in the way of financial support.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is looking to provide the processors for smart watches as well as the smaller devices that power the speculative “internet of things.” Intel has not been able to pre-empt the movements of the technology market for the last decade, so there is little to suggest that its ideas about the next decade fail to impress.

The company’s earnings, and its stock, are bound to be hit if the company cannot substitute for lost revenue, and shareholders will be watching for any sign of weakness through 2014.

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