Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Intel hurting!

Intel's profit and revenue slipped in its latest quarter, as expected, due to aggressive pricing and stiffer competition in the semiconductor market. The company also forecast revenue below Wall Street's expectations as it copes with an inventory buildup.

And the picture for the next quarter looks no better. In fact most of 2006 should prove a bad one for Intel, particularly now that Microsoft have delayed their launch of Vista until next year.

Intel has inventory problems, a weak PC market and is caught in transition moving to next generation technology. This has allowed their arch-rival AMD to gobble up market share. And the trend looks set to continue.

The real questions is can Intel get out of their current conundrums by doing more of the same - or do they need a real make-over and a new CEO much as IBM needed in the early '90's. The latest quarter will most certainly not have helped the existing team led by Otellini.

I must say I am becoming less bullish on Intel. And AMD sure have the chance of a lifetime to play catch-up!

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