Shares in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell in after-hours trade Thursday despite the chip maker beating Wall Street’s estimates for its second-quarter profit and revenue as a surge in cloud computing lifted demand for chips.
Its net income climbed to US$5.01bn, or US$1.05 per share, in the three months until the close of June, up from US$2.81bn or US$0.58 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, Intel earned US$1.04 per share.
Revenue, meanwhile, climbed 15% to US$16.96bn.
This set of results beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts who had forecast that Intel would earn US$0.96 per share on revenue of US$16.77bn
“After five decades in tech, Intel is poised to deliver our third record year in a row. We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the need to process, store and move data, which has never been more pervasive or more valuable,” said Bob Swan, Intel CFO and interim CEO.
The results failed to cheer investors, however, who sent the chipmaker’s shares down 4.3% to US$49.88 in after-hours trade.
Its shares came under pressure after the chip maker missed Wall Street's forecasts for its data-center revenue, which came in at US$5.5bn and fell short of the market's target of US$5.61bn.
The results follow CEO Brian Krzanich’s sudden resignation over a month ago from Intel after it emerged that he was having a relationship with another employee and violated Intel’s non-fraternization policy. While chief financial officer Robert Swan is now in charge of the company as interim chief executive, there’s been no news about his permanent successor.
Read: Intel CEO steps down amid investigation into past relationship with an employee
Intel now projects that it will earn US$1.15 per share in the third quarter on revenue of US$18.1bn. These forecasts trump Wall Street’s estimate of US$1.08 per share on revenue of US$17.6bn.
For the full year, Intel expects earnings per share of US$4.10 on revenue of US$69.5bn.
-- updated with share price changes--