"If Intel had spotted the issue earlier they could have just slowed their aggressive production ramp."
Andy spotted and discussed the issue a full three months ago, which means Intel was well aware of the inventory buildup before that.
His public position BACK THEN was that he could deal with the inventory, that it was occassioned by the unexpectedly good production ramp, and that he did NOT want to screw with the line WHILE IT WAS BEING BROUGHT UP.
I assume now that the line is close to being finished with the ramp, and now he could adjust.
$200 Million inventory buildup, while not insignificant is maybe 4 million chips in a 170 Million chip annual market.
It is true that this may reduce next quarter's gpm, but they know that and were the FIRST to announce it. But by what a percent or two?
Hey, if it were perfect, then I would get suspicious.
This is a blow out quarter for what it is.
Next quarter, Intel has what 50 new product types comming on line?
And furthermore, as I understand it, the way Barrett convinced the board to piss away 27 Billion (!)on new plants and equipment while the market was tanking was the argument, that IF cpu sales did not come to fruition, the the other Divisions could use the capacity in a heartbeat to make a profitable return on investment.
Duke, J. |
