Intel Had COVID-19 ‘Demand Bump,’ but There's Uncertainty Ahead

Intel finished Q1 with $19.8 billion revenue, $800 million better than forecasts, partly from a 14% COVID-19-induced increase in its “PC-centric” business, said CEO Bob Swan on a Thursday investor call. Profit of $1.45 per share exceeded projections by 15 cents, he said. The forecast is for Intel’s Q2 PC revenue to be “flat or slightly up” compared with Q2 2019, said Chief Financial Officer George Davis. PC unit volume in Q1 was up 13% year over year “on higher notebook demand and increased supply,” he said. “Notebook demand strength is expected to continue into Q2 with more people working and learning from home due to COVID-19-related shelter-in-place orders.” Intel isn't releasing full-year 2020 guidance “with limited visibility due to the uncertainty driven by COVID-19,” said Davis, noting a "demand bump" so far from the virus' effects. Throughout the pandemic, “the world’s cloud and network infrastructure has delivered massive scaling to support vital workloads for businesses and consumers,” said Swan. “Cloud-delivered applications seen as conveniences a quarter ago, such as online shopping and video collaboration, have now become indispensable.”