Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jenna who wrote (115525)	10/23/2000 8:58:21 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 120523

National issues profit and sales warning Semiconductor Business News (10/23/00, 04:57:35 PM EDT) SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Citing a shortfall in sales in the PC and wireless-chip sectors, National Semiconductor Corp. is the latest company to issue a sales and profits warning. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company here today announced that sales and earnings for its second fiscal quarter of 2001, ending November 26, 2000, and third period, ending February 25, 2001, may be below those of the recently completed first quarter. "Bookings and shipments were below our expectations," said a spokesman for National. "Some of our customers cut back their orders and are now trying to catch up with their inventories." National attributed the problems to undisclosed customers in the wireless and PC sectors, but it did not elaborate. National is the latest company to issue a warning statements. Recently, Apple, Intel, Lucent, and others announced lower-than-expected sales and profits in the period for various reasons. Conexant, Texas Instruments, and other IC companies with exposure to the wireless industry hinted of a possible slowdown in that sector. And, OEMs like Ericsson, Motorola, and others have experienced a major slowdown, although Nokia is reporting brisk demand for its products. One of the world's largest suppliers of analog chips, National has been expanding its efforts in the wireless-IC markets by recently rolling out baseband controllers, radio-frequency ICs, and other parts for the digital-cellular markets. One of the problems is that National is competing in the baseband and RF chip markets for handsets based on the global system for mobile communications (GSM) standard. While GSM has the world's largest digital-cellular standard, the company competes against a slew of vendors, such as Conexant, Hitachi, RF Micro Devices, and others. The company is also making a major push in the emerging, low-cost set-top-box market with a line of x86-based chips. But this market is taking much slower than expected, analysts said. In the first quarter ended Aug. 27, it reported a $149.4 million in earnings, or $0.76 per share, on sales of $641 million. The company now expects second quarter sales to decline between 6% to 8% from the first quarter and to resume sequential growth in the third quarter. This may result in a drop of about 2.5% points in gross margin from the 53% in the first quarter and a corresponding decline in earnings per share on unchanged operating expenses from the company's previous outlook.