Intel grabs market share in Q4

Turning the screws

By Drew Cullen • Get more from this author

Posted in Servers, 15th January 2003 10:48 GMT

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Intel's Q4 revenue was $7.2bn, 3 per cent up on Q4, 2001. Net income was $1bn, advancing 108 per cent on the same period in 2001.

Not bad at all, but is it enough to call a bottom on the PC manufacturing recession? Probably not, in a statement accompanying the results, CEO Craig Barrett
says: "It appears we have increased our market segment share in microprocessors, chipsets, graphics, motherboards, flash, PDA microprocessors and LAN-on-motherboard gigabit Ethernet connections."

So, Intel's sales uptick has come at the expense of competitors. And it shows little sign of relaxing, even though it is cutting its capex in 2003 by about a quarter. This year it is budgeting $3.5bn to $3.9bn, down from $4.7bn last year.

Bad news for semiconductor equipment suppliers, but good news, short-term anyway, for investors. An competitors? Intel's capex remains huge, compared with, say AMD. Even at this reduced level, it continues to outgun the competition.

In 2003, says Barrett, Intel will "continue to deploy advanced technology, further our silicon leadership, deliver industry-leading products, and improve our competitiveness and cost structure so we can continue to outperform now and when the economic picture improves.” There, in a nutshell, is why AMD and IBM are huddling together for capex warmth.

Full year revenue in 2002 was up one per cent to $28.6bn, while net income was up $3.1bn, up 141 per cent from $26.5bn in 2001. ®

AMD, IBM pool chipmaking development

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