Intel is expected to announce its quarterly earnings report for the first quarter of 2021 later today, with analysts expecting a record $10.2 billion revenue from its consumer PC business for the first time ever. In comparison, the chipmaker’s CCG (Client Computing Group) brought in US$9.8 billion in the same quarter last year. On the other hand, the first quarter of 2019 brought in a revenue of US$8.6 billion, recording a yearly increase of 4% in 2020. The increase in the company’s revenue isn’t really a surprise and can be attributed to the Work-From-Home/Play-From-Home lifestyle promoted by the pandemic and the increased PC demand in recent months.
On the downside, the DCG (Data Center Group) is expected to be less impressive with quarterly revenue of $5.84 billion, more than a million less than that reported in the same period last year. Intel’s overall Q1 revenue is expected to come in at $17.74 billion, a drop of roughly $2 billion over the previous year’s first-quarter earnings of $19.8 billion. The lower figures can be primarily attributed to the lower revenue from the Data Center business which despite the launch of the 10nm 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable CPUs (Ice Lake-SP) saw mild growth due to increased competition and limited supply. Either way, Intel stocks have jumped 19% over the last six months and are presently trading over $60.
2021 is a transitional year as we accelerate Intel’s trajectory, invest in our future and improve our execution. We’re working aggressively with our supply chain partners and leveraging our unique manufacturing capabilities to solve industry-wide component shortages and outperform this guide. Given the incredible demand for computing, the strength of our IDM 2.0 strategy, and the technology investments we’re making, I’m certain Intel’s best days are in front of us.
Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO
Intel is expected to report an adjusted EPS of $1.15 on revenues of $17.88 billion, while the company guided for earnings of $1.10 per share and adjusted revenues of $17.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Street’s unofficial view on earnings stands at $1.30 per share.
In the previous quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings of $1.52, in line with the prior-year quarter. That said, it was still higher than the consensus estimate of $1.10. Furthermore, although the overall revenue declined by 1% to $20 billion, it did manage to surpass analysts’ expectations of $17.5 billion.
