The worries about the US semiconductor market boiling over that surfaced late last month hardened at the end of last week, and Intel Corp shares shed 50 cents to $25, its lowest for eight months, in active trading as several analysts cut their forecasts for the company. The current quarter was no problem – net […]
The worries about the US semiconductor market boiling over that surfaced late last month hardened at the end of last week, and Intel Corp shares shed 50 cents to $25, its lowest for eight months, in active trading as several analysts cut their forecasts for the company. The current quarter was no problem – net up 77%, sales up over 50%: see Company Results – but weakness in third quarter orders from personal computer manufacturers cause analysts to worry that first quarter 1989 profits will be weaker than expected. Advanced Micro Devices has already said that it will report horrible figures for the quarter just ended, and it is particularly exposed by the fact that personal computer manufacturers are accelerating the switch to the 80386 from the 80286 – and AMD only manufactures the latter. But the switch is not all good news for Intel itself, only source for the 80386, because AMD makes the only fast 80286s, and as the market moves up the performance scale, those, and the fast CMOS versions made by Harris Corp, will tend to be the only 80286s anybody wants. And in contrast to the bullish forecast of the Semiconductor Industry Association of 12.3% growth in semiconductor orders next year, research house Integrated Circuits Engineering in Scottsdale, Arizona is forecasting only 3% growth in orders next year. Another research house, In-Stat, says it is not nearly so optimistic as last year, seeing general weaknesses in the computer industry, with a build-up in unsold machines.
