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Hardware Intel's Strong Q3 Results Point to Economic Recovery
Jansen Ng (Blog) - October 14, 2009 10:30 AM

47 comment(s) - last by hyvonen.. on Oct 15 at 5:48 PM

Windows 7 and Christmas shopping will make Q4 even better

Intel Corporation has reported third quarter revenues of $9.4 billion, with an impressive net profit of $1.9 billion. Although down from the same period last year, revenue is up $1.4 billion from the last quarter. Its gross margin is at 58 percent, up 7 points sequentially.

The world's largest semiconductor company is widely seen as a bellwether for the semiconductor industry and the health of the global economy as a whole. Strong sales can indicate increasing consumer confidence and spending. Many investors will interpret Intel's strong results as a sign that it is a good time to invest into technology companies, which could help spur further research and development of new technologies and products.

Intel has been successfully following its plan to reduce production in order to reduce inventories of CPUs and chipsets, especially of older models. This enables it to transition more quickly to newer models like the Core i5 without have to take large writedowns from excess stock. It announced the close of several obsolete fabs in the first quarter and a quick ramp to new 32nm products as keys to success. Intel has also established "inventory hubs" where it holds its products until OEMs require it. These are different from conventional warehouses in that these products are already ordered, but are simply a more efficient means of order fulfillment across multiple customers.

The company spent $2.75 billion in the third quarter, with a large percentage of that going toward the 32nm Westmere ramp. The firm's transition hinges on production going smoothly at Fab D1D, Fab D1C, and AFO (Aloha Factory Operations).

During a conference call, Intel noted that it received a larger than expected boost from the back to school season. It experiences strong notebook sales, especially in the CULV segment. Sales also picked up significantly in China and the Asian market. The firm is also seeing strong adoption of Nehalem-based Xeon processors as companies are consolidating dozens of older inefficient servers into Xeon racks.

Production of 32nm Westmere chips is already underway. Intel is growing inventories in order to support a strong launch, and production is steadily increasing to meet expected demand due to Windows 7 and the Christmas shopping season.

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By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 10:57:44 AM , Rating: 2

Awesome, Unfortunately I've already gone the way of the AMD Processor, specifically the Athlon 2 X4 620, Cheapest quad-core around.
Here the Athlon X4 is $158 AU compared to the Intel Q8200 at $258 AU, it was a no-brainer, actually built 2 rigs around that chip to replace my old Intel Pentium 4 3.06ghz rig, and my Pentium 2180 Dual Core system.

The only issue I find with Intel at the moment is simply: Price, I have no need for a $500 processor.

Not to mention that there i5/i7 platforms as-a-whole is still far to expensive for me to jump into, an AMD Socket AM3 based around the 780G or newer chipset is almost half the price!
Sure I would be getting a larger performance increase, but I have simply no need for it, I only do a little bit of light gaming, programming, and Internet Browsing and that's all.

I'm also a little disappointed at the price of DDR2 memory, it's risen to the point of DDR3 prices, despite our economy doing extremely well.

Here is hoping for a round of price cuts! I wouldn't mind it, might be able to build myself a HTPC cheaper before Christmas based around the Atom/low-end Celeron/Pentium.

RE: .

By amanojaku on 10/14/2009 11:16:18 AM , Rating: 1

quote:
The only issue I find with Intel at the moment is simply: Price, I have no need for a $500 processor.

I buy AMD exclusively and I have to say your argument doesn't hold a lot of water. Intel quads are available starting at $150, with five models under $200 and six models between $200-$300. There are two i7 models in just under $300, too.

I agree, however, that a sub-$200 CPU is good enough for my needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...

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RE: .

By MrFord on 10/14/2009 11:25:59 AM , Rating: 1

And how that translates in AU dollars? Probably close to $500. It's not always $US, as specified by the poster.

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RE: .

By amanojaku on 10/14/2009 11:35:16 AM , Rating: 1

The exchange rates that I see show the AUD as 90% of USD, so $500AUD is about $450USD.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 11:51:25 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
The exchange rates that I see show the AUD as 90% of USD, so $500AUD is about $450USD.

The exchange rates mean crap, we still pay a HUGE price premium on most electronics because we are a much much much smaller market. (22 million people in Aus, over 200 million people in the US).

Then you have the Taxes and other fee's that the Government conveniently places on Imports which adds to the costs as well, and the 10% tax on everything in the country that ends up being sold.

So although our Average wage and our Dollar is similar to the USA, Electronics is sometimes upwards of Twice as expensive as the USA.

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RE: .

By VitalyTheUnknown on 10/14/2009 11:33:27 AM , Rating: 2

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz - $99.00
vs.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz - $149.99
(About the same performace.)
There's nothing more to say.

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RE: .

By jonmcc33 on 10/14/2009 11:36:44 AM , Rating: 2

If you already had a LGA775 motherboard? Add a motherboard purchase to that AMD CPU. If I am going to have to purchase a motherboard to get a quad core I'd probably end up getting a Core i5 anyway. Which sort of makes this whole cheap AMD quad core thing pointless.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 11:46:56 AM , Rating: 3

quote:
Which sort of makes this whole cheap AMD quad core thing pointless.

Except for the fact that they work in Am2+ motherboards which can be found much much much cheaper than the LGA1156 motherboards, heck a quality AM3 board is cheaper.

For Instance:

ASrock M3A780GXH-128M - $136.
Athlon 2 X4 620 - $158.
Total: $294

Core i5 750 - $303
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 - $177
Total: $480

Difference of: $186, or if I really wanted to go cheaper with the Athlon I could grab the ASrock A780GMH-128M for $113 which is a difference of $209 AU. - So how is it better off to go with a Core i5? In-terms of lowest possible price with a Quad Core?

Mind you, the price difference between the AMD and Intel platforms would be less if you went with LGA775.
Even less if you already have a compatible motherboard, but the same stands true both ways.

Then you need to look at the boards themselves, if you Intend to stick with the IGP, then AMD is the better platform to go with in comparison to the Intel Decelerators that are in use these days.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 12:30:24 PM , Rating: 2

The i5 750 is $199.00 on Newegg. Not sure where you are getting this 300 dollar figure from. Are you quoting the MSRP sucker price that NOBODY actually ends up paying ?

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 12:36:56 PM , Rating: 3

I guess you to missed the "AU" which means "Aus/Australian". - Those are actual prices, not RRP.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 12:56:34 PM , Rating: 2

You used the dollar sign and then ONCE in your post said "AU" after another dollar signed figure. You do realize the "Dollar" is an American currency right ?

And what kind of idiot makes a comparison to prices on Daily Tech specifically relevant only to Australians ??? Hey while you are at it could we have those figures in something equally worthless to 99% of the readers here, like maybe Rubbles or sand dollars ?

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RE: .

By HotFoot on 10/14/2009 1:37:47 PM , Rating: 3

Only on U.S. soil does the $ sign mean U.S. currency. Plenty of countries use the $. If you really want to be explicit you could say US$ or USD or whatever, vs. AU$ or CAN$.

OTOH, this is a predominantly U.S. site so I would assume anyone saying $ would mean U.S. But in this case, I knew the poster was talking about AU$ since I'd read the thread and didn't just jump to the end to post.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 2:29:06 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
OTOH, this is a predominantly U.S. site so I would assume anyone saying $ would mean U.S. But in this case

THANK YOU, that's all I'm saying. His opening statement had "$$$$$" galore, but not an AU anywhere to specify currency. It is only natural to assume he meant American dollars. Anyone saying otherwise is biased.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/15/2009 1:26:31 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
THANK YOU, that's all I'm saying. His opening statement had "$$$$$" galore, but not an AU anywhere to specify currency. It is only natural to assume he meant American dollars. Anyone saying otherwise is biased.

Or perhaps other people read my other posts?

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RE: .

By hyvonen on 10/15/2009 5:38:40 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
ASrock M3A780GXH-128M - $136.
Athlon 2 X4 620 - $158.
Total: $294

Core i5 750 - $303
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 - $177
Total: $480

Difference of: $186, or if I really wanted to go cheaper with the Athlon I could grab the ASrock A780GMH-128M for $113 which is a difference of $209 AU. - So how is it better off to go with a Core i5? In-terms of lowest possible price with a Quad Core?

Um... not an AU anywhere, you say? Maybe you should read before ranting with an attitude?

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 2:05:01 PM , Rating: 3

quote:
The dollar (often represented by the Dollar/Peso sign: "$") is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.

Taken from Wikipedia, thus it's not "only" an American currency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar

What kind of Idiot only believes that the USA is the only country on earth to use the "Dollar" as an official currency?

Dailytech is also a website that can be accessed from all over the world, and as such reports on tech developments happening all around the world.
The united States isn't the only place of importance, people come from far and wide, and I suggest you get a grip.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 2:26:52 PM , Rating: 2

Ok this is silly.

Back to my point, if you are going to compare the price of computer parts to NON AUSTRALIANS, use Newegg. You used the dollar sign like 6 times in your post, and only once threw in the "AU". But NOT in your opening comparison !

quote:
ASrock M3A780GXH-128M - $136. Athlon 2 X4 620 - $158. Total: $294

Core i5 750 - $303 Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 - $177 Total: $480

Is this NOT what you wrote ? Now honestly, how in the hell could I NOT assume you were using American dollars as the currency in your opening remarks given that you did NOT specify an "AU" here ? Give me a freaking break.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 3:02:15 PM , Rating: 2

Why should I go by newegg? I don't shop there, nor is it available to most people over seas, so those in the UK etc' still miss out.

In other words you will not please everyone, If you read all my posts in the thread you would have gotten an understanding of the currency I was stating.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 4:31:12 PM , Rating: 2

sigh.... wow...

Because when you are making a comparison for other people, especially those who don't like in Australia, maybe you should use a frame of reference that not only puts things in perspective, but helps emphasize your point ?

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/15/2009 1:23:43 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
sigh.... wow... Because when you are making a comparison for other people, especially those who don't like in Australia, maybe you should use a frame of reference that not only puts things in perspective, but helps emphasize your point ?

Your ignorance amazes me.

1) The prices I used were merely used to show the price disparity between the products, which DOES emphasis my original point.

2) If I am going to have to start using US prices so as not to get you confused, then you should start listing AU prices so that I don't get confused, and every other dollar currency to be clear for everyone.

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RE: .

By hyvonen on 10/15/2009 5:46:05 PM , Rating: 2

His point was quite clear - Intel's platform is more expensive the AMD's (although it's not apples-apples comparison... AMD's comes with integrated graphics, while Intel's CPU is much faster). You're needlessly complicating the discussion with your "dollar is american" stupidity.

If you really want to contribute something useful to this topic, please go to newegg, get the US$ prices for those four components listed, and make the US$ comparison... let's see then what the price difference is.

And badmouthing Australia is just bad form. Grow up.

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RE: .

By eddieroolz on 10/14/2009 5:00:15 PM , Rating: 2

I was under impression everyone here except you got the fact that he was talking in AUD.

I had no problems. He mentioned multiple times earlier "AU".

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 2:39:27 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
Taken from Wikipedia, thus it's not "only" an American currency. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar

IF you are going to quote "only", you should make sure the person actually said the word. What I said was the dollar was an American currency. Nowhere did I say the dollar was only an American currency.

Stop trying to make me a villain please and just accept that your post lead to a natural misunderstanding.

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RE: .

By R3T4rd on 10/15/2009 5:13:22 AM , Rating: 2

Reclaimer77...seriously, you should have read all his other posts. I think everyone knew he was talking in Aussie money. I am an american...and I knew.

And I agree, AMD is a better bang for the dollar vs Intel.

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RE: .

By eddieroolz on 10/14/2009 4:48:48 PM , Rating: 2

I suggest you stop spreading ignorance around here, because not everyone in the world uses USD.

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RE: .

By Reclaimer77 on 10/14/2009 11:21:40 AM , Rating: 2

DDR 2 is obsolete now. Older ram always goes up in price. Go try to get your hands on some DDR or PC300 ram lol. It's nuts.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/14/2009 11:36:31 AM , Rating: 1

quote:
DDR 2 is obsolete now. Older ram always goes up in price. Go try to get your hands on some DDR or PC300 ram lol. It's nuts.

Funny you should say that, I tried hunting down some 512mb PC133 SDRAM sticks for a friends ancient Pentium 3, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the price was $180 AU! (DDR3 memory can be found here for $126 AU for a 4gb kit).

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RE: .

By Murst on 10/14/2009 2:51:38 PM , Rating: 2

Ebay.

Or you can probably buy an old PC for much less than AU$180 and take out the RAM.

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RE: .

By StevoLincolnite on 10/15/2009 1:25:28 AM , Rating: 2

I could also get an Atom on it's way to being functional in a similar price bracket.

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RE: .

By rippleyaliens on 10/14/2009 7:29:53 PM , Rating: 2

I dont know about that..
i just bought a q9550 2.83 Ghz Quad core for $169, US..
On OCT 13,2009 and it was a WALK in to a store purchase new..
Microcenter for the WIN..
It is on my $69 Gigabyte MB, and Working VERY well...
AMD is nice, but they slipped up last GEN.. Time for a re-make, give us something exciting,
$100 price difference, doesnt add up to best bang for buck. Im waiting on AMD to do what Intel did, when core 2 came out.. Wow us. AMD lost my business when they refused to lower prices, when they should have. They milked us out of $$$, versus Intel, however they are, ARE guaranteed 2x a year, to LOWER PRICES.. They have done that for over 10 years, especially in feb. then summer time. AMD wellll, they dont, and when they had a awesome processor, what did they do, they milked the consumer,, to the point of draining us, then they come out with a few procs.. That is unacceptable.

AMD with its REACTIONARY selling, is not good enough. Some PROACTIVE selling, IE bringing us something worthwhile is needed... The new ATI video cards the 5800 series is more like it. If only AMD proc's could be like taht, then i would jump in, as well as make some recomendations..

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Economic recovery?

By Ordr on 10/14/2009 11:46:52 AM , Rating: 3

RE: Economic recovery?

By Hiawa23 on 10/14/2009 12:04:15 PM , Rating: 3

I don't think so. This is a short-term bounce. Fundamentally, this economy is shattered. The dollar is continuing to plunge. A country cannot be built upon a foundation of credit-based, debt-laden fantasy.

I agree, everytime the guys get on TV & say the recession is over, I don't know whether to cry or laugh cause for the majority it aint over, not by a long shot, 10% unemployment or worst in most US states. I don't understand the guys in power.

How do you sustain an economy when 70% of it is consumer spending & I guarantee much of that was credit, now the bubble has burst how do you rebuild this economy again with umemployment what it is, especially when we don't make anything like we used to?

The article says Christmas will bring better results, well, I don't doubt that but if you are like most just tyring to keep the lights on, or trying to pay bills with less money due job cutbacks & whatnot, this Christmas is going to take on a new meaning. Less buying junk, & more about family.

It's the hard truth many are facing & as far as I can see the recession is not over & will not be for the middle class or lower anytime soon. If someone has some answers I would sure like to hear em, cause many are losing hope.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By reader1 on 10/14/2009 12:15:37 PM , Rating: 1

Survival of the fittest. We're weeding out the weak; trimming the fat. That will lead to economic prosperity. 10-15% unemployment is a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By Hiawa23 on 10/14/2009 12:42:45 PM , Rating: 2

Survival of the fittest. We're weeding out the weak; trimming the fat. That will lead to economic prosperity. 10-15% unemployment is a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.

You have to be joking, WE, as you put it really isn't weeding out anything, atleast I don't look at people & their lives like that. The only economic proserity that is good for is the 1, or 2% at the top, not the people at the bottom or middle, but okay, that was an interesting response.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By tviceman on 10/14/2009 1:14:16 PM , Rating: 2

Trimming the fat off the steak, to me, would be eliminating excessive bonuses. And besides, the leaders we have in power will not allow the unskilled and/or unemployed to go without compensation - meaning those who are skilled and work hard will pay more for those who are unskilled, unwilling, and unemployed.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By crystal clear on 10/14/2009 2:38:51 PM , Rating: 2

Wrong ! the reckless & mismanaged ones are being eleminated whilst well managed companies like Intel will survive.

Economic prosperity doesnt come so easily-you got work your way out of recession & not spend your way out of recession.

As for unemployment - STOP outsourcing jobs to China & India !
(IBM is now referred jokingly as Indian Business Machines)

All those cost cutting excuses put out are in fact PROFIT boosting plans.

Profits not for higher shareholder dividend but for HUGE BONUSES for the CEOs,CIO,CFOs, many more around them.

Bonuses need to be heavily taxed to stop the greedy !

If Intel can base most of its manufacturing in the USA & make a profit, so can others from Apple,Dell,HP,& others.

Bring those jobs back to the USA !

We need some protectionist policies,however much people in Govt might say NO.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By Ordr on 10/14/2009 3:14:55 PM , Rating: 2

The amount of exclamation points in your reply makes me think that you're being sarcastic. I really, really hope that's the case.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By WW102 on 10/14/2009 3:55:43 PM , Rating: 2

Wow thats about as Anti-American/Anti-Capitalism as you get.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By shin0bi272 on 10/15/2009 9:51:36 AM , Rating: 2

Did uncle Karl teach you that? I thought Keynesian economics had been thoroughly discredited... I guess I was wrong.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By crystal clear on 10/14/2009 1:58:04 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
as far as I can see the recession is not over & will not be for the middle class or lower anytime soon. If someone has some answers I would sure like to hear em, cause many are losing hope.

Nobody in the USA claims that we are out of the recession.

Anyone assuming/predicting the good times are on the way is ignorant & simply an idiot.

There are the first signs of an economic recovery but the road to recovery is still a long one that goes way into 2nd half of 2010.

There are NO shortcuts to an economic recovery,neither can you spend you way out of recession.

Companies like Intel are worldwide operators & their worldwide sales reflect the general economic situation around the world.

They are NOT the economic indicators of the U.S. economy.

The title of this article is misleading/wrong & misintepretes the Intel earnings for an economic recovery in the USA.

As for you - you have to master the fine art/act of balancing your family budgets.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By shin0bi272 on 10/15/2009 9:50:27 AM , Rating: 2

Watch MSNBC, cnn, cbs, abc, or nbc for a few minutes they claim the world is awash with love for America now and the recession is over and we are well into the recovery. Of course they are owned by GE who gave millions to the obama campaign but Im sure that has nothing to do with their economic forcasts...

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RE: Economic recovery?

By TSS on 10/14/2009 3:37:16 PM , Rating: 2

Short term awnsers? there never are.

Long term awnsers: there is 1 that's possible. Drop the role as the world's consumers and go back to production.

The chinese economy is currently based on foreign consumption. That's why the crisis hit them hard as well, because the rest of the world started to consume less so they could sell less.

Now the awnser for them is to stimulate domestic consumption, and they have already put out stimulus programs focussed on that. They also have lots of dollars they'd like to spend.

Now if the US stimulates domestic production instead of consumption, foreign consumption of the chinese falls further, so their awnser has to be more domestic consumption.

basically, switch the roles around again. the budget surplus will go to paying the national debt (and pray to god that it's big enough to do so) which will at some point help fuel the chinese consumption (like it fueled american consumption before). then at some point, the debt will be paid but the chinese will still be consuming. at this point, finally, the power balance switches back to america.

It's a long shot, but it's better then going into a crisis because of spending too much and then trying to solve it by spending more then ever.

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RE: Economic recovery?

By shin0bi272 on 10/15/2009 10:10:58 AM , Rating: 2

Lets not forget what started the great depression. The fed pumped 60% more money into the economy over the course of 8 years (21-28). When the government dumps billions in cash into the market 2 things happen. First the Interest rates drop precipitously. Second, the stock market soars since there is easy credit. In 1929 Hoover takes office he stops that policy and the fed starts raising the interest rate. What happens ... a few months after the government shuts off the free money spigot the stock market crashes causing hundreds if not thousands of businesses to collapse or lay off people. In the end we had to go through a world war with half the country overseas and 95% top marginal tax rate for about 5 years to get the problem fixed.

The current crisis has been postponed by the government turning on the spigot of free money again and cutting the interest rate to 0.0 or 0.5% (I cant remember which). They developed a program to keep people in their homes by refinancing their mortgage to less than what they paid for it and the people are still losing their homes even after they get that special deal. Ontop of that you have the corporate land (think strip malls) about to go through the same debacle that the private home owners went through last year. But Barney Frank wants to expand the Community Reinvestment Act (hr1479). You know that pesky law that says banks HAVE to lend money to people who cant afford a house or the federal government wont renew their operating license next year or maybe they'll cut off their pipeline to the fdic so they cant lend money to other banks... you know thats not extortion or anything... nahhh. Oh but if you dont want to lend to people who cant afford it dont worry there's an out incorporated into the bill... you can donate to ACORN! he he he yeah! This wont cause any problems no way!

The dollar isnt even worth the ink and paper it takes to print it. Gold therefore has been exploding to an all time high of over 1065dollars/oz. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela are talking about dumping the dollar for the oil trading currency (thats very bad btw), and there is growing talk in the UN to dump the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

While Im glad Intel had a good quarter the rest of us are about to lose our jobs, our free choice, and what few rights we have left... good job obama voters

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