Intel forecast Oct. 29 that fourth-quarter revenue would fall short of analyst expectations despite strong growth in data-center chips, giving enterprise hardware buyers a mixed picture of demand and supply.
The chipmaker projected revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share. Reuters reported that analysts surveyed by LSEG expected $17.07 billion and 43 cents, respectively. The outlook is a forecast, not a completed-quarter result.
Servers and PCs diverge
In its earnings release, Intel reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21% from a year earlier. Data Center and AI revenue rose 78% to $7.3 billion, while Client Computing and Physical AI Group revenue fell 5% to $8.1 billion.
For the quarter ended Sept. 26, diluted earnings attributable to Intel were 60 cents a share under generally accepted accounting principles, compared with adjusted earnings of 52 cents. These measures include different accounting adjustments and are not interchangeable.
Supply remains a constraint
Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said in the release that Intel expected the PC slowdown to persist through at least the first half of 2027. CEO Lip-Bu Tan described expanding Xeon supply as an immediate priority.
For procurement teams, the results distinguish customer demand from available manufacturing output. Higher server revenue does not itself confirm delivery dates or capacity for an individual order.