Intel Sales Above Plan Amid Virus, but Chip Behind Schedule; Stock Down

Cloud and network infrastructure and PC capabilities were "vital in allowing businesses and people to continue to work, learn, stay connected and provide critical goods and services,” said Intel CEO Bob Swan on a Q2 investor call Thursday: Those trends helped Intel generate $19.7 billion revenue, exceeding forecasts by $1.2 billion. The company is making “significant progress” boosting its factory CPU capacity and improving its supply chain, he said. “We’re on track to return to more normal levels of PC inventory as we work through the second half of the year.” The downside is “yield” delays in its 7-nanometer chip process technology that's pushing commercialization schedules about “12 months behind our internal target,” said Swan. “We’ve root-caused the issue and believe there are no fundamental roadblocks, but we have also invested in contingency plans to hedge against further schedule uncertainty.” The stock closed down 16% Friday at $50.59. The “global problems we face are bigger than any one company can solve alone,” said Swan. It established 2030 “corporate responsibility goals” that call for a “collective response to revolutionize health and safety” and make technology “fully inclusive,” he said. The $50 million it committed to a “pandemic response technology initiative” typifies Intel’s “unique ability to partner and collectively solve critical problems.” The initiative will speed access to technology for patient care, said Intel. Chief Financial Officer George Davis said to expect "the weak economic environment will impact our commercial PC business, particularly the desktop.” The chipmaker expects the PC market to decline by high-single digits year over year in Q3, the CFO said.