Adverse forecasts: Intel jolts sector with lowered outlook

NEW YORK: Intel Corporation stunned the tech sector by sharply cutting its revenue outlook for the current quarter, citing weak demand for personal computers (PC) and slower growth from emerging economies. The world’s largest chipmaker is being hit by a shift away from traditional PCs to mobile devices, and by a sluggish global economy.

Consumers are also holding back on purchases ahead of the release in late October of the Windows 8 operating system. Intel said that third-quarter revenue will stand around $13.2 billion, down from an earlier expectation of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion. Shares of the California tech giant fell 3.6% to close at $24.18. Analyst Vijay Rakesh at Sterne Agee said Intel is seeing “multiple challenges in the PC space,” with slower-than-expected sales and predicts headwinds for its PC peers – chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices and graphics firm Nvidia.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2012.