Ted, re: "What's the consensus here re Intel and its earnings report?"
I share your concern, a bad report from Intel would be VERY bad for the markets.
Intel had ALWAYS pre-announced when they were +/- 5% from their guidance. Nice and predictable. But last q. they beat estimates by about 10%, and did not revise guidance. So, I am less comfortable with their guidance than I have been in the past.
That said, their guidance was for higher gross margin, slightly lower revenue. My gut feeling is that they would pre-announce if they were significantly LOWER in their projections.
A couple of other points. Rumors surface almost every q. that Intel will miss. Some of the analysts have talked about a soft corporate market, but they never seem to have a handle on the amount of business Intel does overseas, which is 50% +/- of Intel sales.
Bottom line, I'm not as confident as have been at times, but I suspect that his quarter will be very good. A bigger concern for me is their forward guidance. There have been reports that Intel will almost double their capital spending from their former guidance, and this will certainly lower net margins, and forward earnings. It will be up to Intel to spin this cost increase as a part of a booming industry, and PR is not an Intel core competency.
At this point in time, we are a stock market, not a market of stocks. Good or bad news from one company will affect all the others, and Intel's report on Tuesday is critical to restore some confidence in the growth of the sector. I don't remember a more important report from Intel.
Good luck,
John |
