Intel expects to miss guidance

MANHASSET, N.Y. — Intel Corp. said Friday (March 3) that first-quarter revenue will range between $8.7 billion and $9.1 billion, compared to the previous guidance of $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion. It cited weaker than expected demand and a slight loss of market share.

Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) said it expected first-quarter gross margins to be adversely affected by the change in revenue. Expenses are expected to be lower than previously forecast due to lower revenue- and profit-related spending.

The dismal first-quarter outlook could draw further wrath from analysts, who in the fourth quarter of 2005 expected higher sales and were disappointed in Intel’s mid-fourth quarter guidance.

The company has been losing market share to rival AMD Inc., particularly in desktop processors for the consumer market. On Thursday, search engine company Google Inc. said it would switch its internal servers from Intel to AMD processors, giving Intel’s main rival a much-needed foothold in the corporate IT sector.