What happened
Shares of semiconductor maker Intel (INTC 0.64%) were falling this morning after the company reported its first-quarter results. Although Intel beat analysts' consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings, investors were disappointed with its second-quarter guidance.
The tech stock was down by 6% as of 10:59 a.m. ET.
So what
Intel's non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.87 easily beat Wall Street's consensus estimate of $0.80 per share. While the company exceeded Wall Street's earnings expectation, its non-GAAP earnings were actually down 35% from the year-ago quarter.
Image source: Getty Images.
In addition to beating analysts' bottom-line estimate, Intel's revenue of $18.4 billion -- down 7% from the year-ago quarter -- also outpaced the consensus estimate of $18.3 billion.
Intel CFO David Zinsner said in a press release that "Intel delivered strong first-quarter financial results, and we are reaffirming our full-year revenue guidance."
But while the company reaffirmed its full-year sales guidance, it issued guidance for the second quarter that was below Wall Street's expectations. Intel's management said that non-GAAP earnings per share will be $0.70 in the second quarter, below the consensus average of $0.83.
Additionally, Intel said its revenue will be $18 billion in the second quarter, lower than Wall Street's expectation of $18.3 billion for the period.
Now what
It's not all that surprising that investors are a bit disappointed with Intel's results today. Beating top- and bottom-line estimates is great, but the company's earnings and revenue both declined from the year-ago quarter, and guidance for the second quarter was below expectations.
Additionally, management's comments about the chip industry didn't exactly boost investor confidence. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said on the company's earnings call, "The chip shortage costs the U.S. economy $240 billion last year and we expect the industry will continue to see challenges until at least 2024 in areas like foundry capacity and tool availability."
While Gelsinger added that Intel is in a good position to handle the challenges, investors don't appear to be as optimistic.
