Intel dips on Q2 report, positive sales forecast

Intel rose in the after-hours session Thursday after it reported a sixth straight quarterly loss that was much deeper than Wall Street analysts had expected, but offered a better-than-expected sales forecast for Q3 and plans to cut headcount by roughly 15%.

The ailing American semiconductor icon reported an adjusted Q2 loss of $0.10 a share, which excludes the impact of some $1.9 billion in restructuring charges.

Sales of $12.86 billion were higher than the $11.97 billion in revenue expected by analysts, FactSet data shows.

Intel offered stronger-than-expected guidance for Q3 sales. The chipmaker said it expected sales of between $12.6 billion and $13.6 billion, above the $12.66 billion that Wall Street analysts had penciled in for Q3 sales, according to FactSet. At the same time, the semiconductor giant’s forecast said that adjusted Q3 earnings per share would be flat, while analysts were looking for $0.04.

In a separate statement, Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, offered a strategic update on the direction of the company, announcing that Intel would abandon manufacturing projects in Poland and Germany as it seeks to course-correct for a manufacturing base that had become “needlessly fragmented and underutilized.”

Tan emphasized that the company intended to take a more disciplined approach to production decisions. “There are no more blank checks,” he said. “Every investment must make economic sense.”