Chip giant Intel (click ticker for report: ) updated its third quarter outlook Friday morning. The firm expects revenue of $12.9-$13.5 billion compared to its previous guidance of $13.8-$14.8 billion and below the consensus estimate of $14.2 billion. Gross margin expectations were reduced to 62% (+/- 1%), from its previous guidance midpoint of 63%. On the positive side, R&D spending will come in at the low-end of the firm’s guidance range of $12.1-$12.7 billion.
Intel cited macroeconomic headwinds, reductions in supply chain inventory, lower enterprise spending and weaker emerging markets demand as the main drivers behind the guidance cut. Yet, the data center business continues to meet expectations, suggesting that weakness is mainly isolated to its PC operations. We’re not surprised by the outlook revision, as recently we’ve seen mediocre data from computer OEMs (as enterprises navigate the shift towards mobile computing). This also suggests the OEMs aren’t expecting much out of Windows 8 (click ticker for report: ), as they aren’t loading up on inventory.
Regardless, this news doesn’t negatively impact our long-term intrinsic valuation of the company, which we expect to continue to dominate traditional computing and make incremental gains in the mobile market. We continue to believe that shares are undervalued and boast a very healthy dividend yield.