Intel Corp. on Tuesday posted a 25 percent jump in quarterly profit, below expectations, as the world's top microchip maker saw weak demand for processors used in desktop computers.
Intel, which makes the microprocessors that drive some 90 percent of the world's personal computers, said net profit for its fourth quarter was $2.5 billion, or 40 cents per share, up from the $2.1 billion, or 33 cents a year earlier. Revenues were $10.2 billion, up 6 percent from $9.6 billion a year earlier.
Analysts had expected a profit of 43 cents per share on revenue of $10.56 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Intel said last month that it was benefiting from rapid sales of laptops, the fastest-growing segment of the computer market, but that a shortage of chipsets — the cluster of chips and interfaces that surround a processor — was hitting revenue growth.
The Santa Clara, California-based company has also been losing some market share to rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel shares have risen about 13 percent over the past year, while AMD's have more than doubled.
