Intel (INTC) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the bell on Thursday, as tech stocks continue to rise on Wall Street's continued enthusiasm for all things artificial intelligence (AI).
Intel's announcement comes as the company aims to fully advance its own AI and follows the debut of its Core Ultra series of PC chips in December, which will allow consumers to use laptops and It will be possible to run AI apps directly on the desktop.
For the quarter, analysts expect the company to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44 and revenue of $15.2 billion. This is a significant improvement over the same period last year, when the company reported sales of $14 billion and earnings per share of $0.10.
It's also in stark contrast to Intel's first quarter, when it reported a loss of $0.04 per share.
Wall Street analysts expect a strong year-over-year recovery for Intel's Client Computing Group, which includes the chip division that sells to PC makers and enthusiasts. Analysts expect the company's client computing revenue to be $8.4 billion, up from $6.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Intel expects its Core Ultra chip line to further boost PC sales in the year ahead as consumer and business customers who purchased new laptops and desktops at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic begin looking for replacement devices. .
Core Ultra includes a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that allows users to run certain AI applications locally on their PC instead of relying on cloud-based applications. The idea is that with NPU a user will be able to access his AI app without going online. That way, the user's data does not have to be sent to her AI company's servers and is securely stored on the device.
However, it is still unclear exactly how useful in-vehicle AI will actually be for consumers. It's also important to note that even Intel isn't entirely sure what AI applications will look like, other than a few early examples, such as local versions of apps like ChatGPT and AI image editing software. is recognized.
Intel's data center and AI division's revenue for the quarter is expected to be $4.1 billion, down from $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. The data center and AI business is an opportunity for Intel to take on rivals such as Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD). In December, CEO Pat Gelsinger unveiled the company's upcoming Gaudi3 accelerator, designed to power generative AI software and services.
Intel on Wednesday announced the opening of a state-of-the-art chip manufacturing facility in New Mexico. Intel is in the midst of a multiyear turnaround effort aimed at returning the semiconductor maker to the top of the chip world after losing manufacturing leadership and market share to rivals like TSMC and AMD.
The company is also in the midst of plans to become a foundry for other chip companies. The company's Intel Foundry Services division is expected to have revenue of $343 million in the quarter, up from $178 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Gelsinger said during the company's third-quarter earnings call that Intel has signed on with two unnamed Foundry Services customers and is finalizing a deal with a third.
Daniel Howley I'm the technology editor at Yahoo Finance. He has been covering the technology industry since his 2011. You can follow him on Twitter. @Daniel Howley.
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