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.

Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (13759)	3/5/2004 3:00:12 PM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95383

And a follow on input from Briefing.com on INTC <<09:18 ET ****** Intel (INTC) 28.95 -0.70: Intel narrowed Q1 guidance after the close Thursday to $8.0-8.2B (+18.5-21.5% Y/Y) and gross margin of 60% +/- 1 pt (approximately +800 bps Y/Y) vs. prior guidance of $7.9-8.5B and 60% +/- a few pts. Operating expense is expected to come in at $2.3B. Inventory build in Asia-Pacific and Japan in Q4 resulted in demand shaping up to be a little less than expected in the first half of the quarter but other geographies continue to be better than seasonal. Excess has been worked through. Company is building for a flat, not down quarter for the rest of the world. Enterprise recovery continues at a steady pace. Outlook is consistent with management's view over the past few months that the recovery in IT spending will occur at a steady rate rather than as a surge in demand as some analysts have been forecasting. This meshes with the revenue patterns we observe across the spectrum of technology firms, as well as the slow pace of tech jobs creation. The market for IT professionals remains challenging with firms continuing to eliminate permanent positions in favor of outsourcing. A strong rebound in tech expenditures is likely to coincide with a meaningful pickup in tech hires. We continue to think the pace of enterprise spending will pickup in H2 and slowly build into 2005. Flash business is above expectations. Prescott production is scaling to expectations. 300mm is ramping. 90nm Dothan is on track for Q2. All of these will drive improved margins. Shares are, based on our inverted EVA / DCF model, priced for sustained low 20% growth assuming steady Y/Y improvement to 39-40% operating margin. As we have previously noted, tech sector valuations are high, clouding the picture for Intel shares. We think Intel will outperform the market's expectations given the revenue growth and margin expansion opportunities that management has nurtured into and through the downturn. Intel is aggressively moving silicon outside of the computer into consumer electronics from smart cameras to set-top boxes to TVs. A number of these new digital consumer electronics, which include products based on the Prescott processor and Granstdale chipset, displays based on Intel's LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology, and single chip solutions for the wireless market that combine communications, applications and memory functionalities, are sampling, and slated to reach the market in 2004 and 2005. Patient investors will be rewarded. We would continue to accumulate position over time. Intel is part of the Active Portfolio.--Ping Yu, Briefing.com>>