Intel desktop depression damages sales

The firm turned in a profit of a hardly insignificant $2.5 billion, with revenues rising by over six per cent.

But the firm had said that it might do better and sell 10.6 billion bucks' worth of chips in that quarter.

Intel said it hadn't sold as many desktop chips as it had expected to. Average selling prices were poorer than normal. But with a gross margin of 61.8 per cent, we doubt its shareholders are bleating or whinging.

Intel blamed Asia Pacific salespeople for the "shortfall". It reckons its financial first quarter sales will hover between $9.1 billion and $9.7 billion, rather than the bullish $10 billion financial analysts had predicted.

But what do financial analysts know about semiconductor stocks anyway? Diddly squat. But there are billions of dollars to be made or lost. Perhaps investors had better start reading Nathan Brookwood's stuff, or even, perish the thought, the INQ. µ

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