Episode summary
Instant Reaction: Intel's Revenue Shatters Wall Street Estimates | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 18 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Mandeep Singh, Ed Ludlow
Summary
Intel’s forecast for the current quarter was the centerpiece, with the company guiding revenue to $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion versus the $15.1 billion analyst consensus. The guests framed the beat as a data center and CPU story, helped by surging demand for chips tied to AI computing and traditional server refreshes. They said Intel’s data center sales jumped 59% last quarter, and that demand is now outpacing supply.
But the reaction was not simply that Intel is back. The discussion emphasized that Intel is still a standalone chip supplier in a market increasingly moving toward bundled systems from Nvidia and Google, while AMD is also pushing harder into the same opportunity. Mandeep Singh argued that Intel is benefiting from low expectations and a cyclical upgrade wave, but that sustainability is the real question.
Ed Ludlow said Intel is improving production and spending more, with capex now expected around $20 billion this year, up from a prior guide near $18 billion. Even so, both guests said Intel still has a long way to go before it resembles the scale, margins, or systems pull of Nvidia.
Key takeaways
- Intel’s third-quarter revenue guide of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion comfortably topped the $15.1 billion consensus, driving the stock higher after hours.
- Mandeep Singh said the main driver is data center CPU demand, but he questioned whether Intel can sustain growth as Nvidia, Google and AMD all target the same market.
- Ed Ludlow said demand is outpacing Intel’s improving supply, so the company is still leaving money on the table.
- Intel raised its capex plan to about $20 billion this year from roughly $18 billion, signaling a bigger bet on capacity.
- The guests said the key investor question is whether Intel can evolve beyond a standalone CPU vendor into a broader systems or AI-data-center player.
Notable quotes
“Intel delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast for the current period, indicating that a surge in data center spending is helping fuel the chipmaker turnaround”
“The outlook underscores Intel's gains with data center customers, which are clamoring for chips to satisfy demand for AI computing”
“It is and uh it's led by something we all expected data centers”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg. Instant reaction and analysis from our 3,000 journalists and analysts around the world.
Here's how Ian King Ian King uh who's been covering this company and this sector for many years put it. Intel delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast for the current period, indicating that a surge in data center spending is helping fuel the chipmaker turnaround. The outlook underscores Intel's gains with data center customers, which are clamoring for chips to satisfy demand for AI computing.
Sales in that segment soared 59% last quarter, more than double the pace of Intel's overall revenue.
Chief Executive Officer Leboutan saying the CPU is taking off in data centers. All right, let's get to it. Uh, back with us is of course Mandep Singh. um with our Bloomberg intelligence team. He oversees tech research here, global tech research for our intelligence team. This looks like a really strong report.
It is and uh it's led by something we all expected data centers. You know that's where you are seeing the demand. We saw that in uh
Google's results yesterday and u look the CPU side is uh something that Intel has had a monopoly over the years. They obviously lost the plot, but now uh they seem to be coming back. The only thing I'm not very sure about is how it translates into sustainable demand because everyone else is also making CPUs whether it's Nvidia, whether it's Google, uh you know, even the likes of AMD's uh they they're all focused on CPUs.
So, Intel is not a monopoly that it used to be. And that's where the sustain like expectations going in the quarter were really low and they did beat that.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- intel revenue forecast
- data center spending
- semiconductor outlook
- wall street estimates
- technology earnings turnaround
Companies and tickers mentioned
- INTC
- Intel
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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