Intel tightens Q4 revenue forecast

Revenue could be up 5% on last quarter

Intel last night narrowed its Q4 sales forecast to the top end of the range it had specified the last time it predicted what the current quarter's results would be.

Last time round, Intel CFO Andy Bryant put Q4's revenues somewhere between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion. Last night he revised that band to $6.7 billion to $6.9 billion.

Holders of INTC stock shouldn't get too excited, however. Assuming the chip giant's sales come in right at the top of that range, it would mark a five per cent increase on Q3's figure - half the increase that AMD is expecting to achieve (though Intel's sales will still dwarf its rival's).

"Business appears to have returned to seasonal patterns," Bryant said last night after announcing the new guidance, cautiously indicating that PC sales are increasing in the run-up to Christmas.

Then again, as Bryant said a week or so back, "Figuring out the near term picture is pretty tough" and "we're no better than anyone else when it comes to doing [this] kind of forecast". So perhaps we shouldn't take the guidance too seriously... ®

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