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Microprocessor heavyweight Intel today posted a 48 percent jump in net income over the same period last year on strong server demand, while revenue was up slightly.

The world's largest chipmaker reported fourth-quarter profit of $3.39 billion, or 59 cents a share, a 48 percent increase over the same period last year when it reported a profit of $2.28 billion, or 40 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter, which ended December 25, was up 8 percent to $11.46 billion, from $10.57 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $11.38 billion.

Gross margin, a key … Read more

Following its modest growth last quarter, the PC market saw its strongest quarter of the year, while managing to miss the expectations of research firms IDC and Gartner.

According to the Quarterly PC Tracker Survey released today by IDC, overall worldwide PC shipments grew 2.7 percent year-on-year during the fourth quarter, with Gartner reporting a slightly larger 3.1 percent as part of its quarterly report. Both numbers missed the firms' expectations, which IDC had predicted at 5.5 percent and Gartner at 4.8 percent.

IDC said that one of the big reasons for the "modest" … Read more

The chip recovery is under way, with quarterly sales forecast to increase year-over-year for the first time in 2009, according to a report from market researcher iSuppli on Tuesday.

Revenue from chip sales is expected to rise by 10.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2008. This would mark the first time this year that revenue has risen compared to the same period a year earlier, according to Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli.

"The seeds of the current recovery were sown in the second quarter," said Ford. At … Read more

The decline in PC chip shipments may be slowing but Netbook processor deliveries were off 33 percent, while Advanced Micro Devices gained on Intel, IDC said.

In the first calendar quarter of 2009, worldwide PC microprocessor shipments fell 10.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with a 17 percent decline from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, according to IDC.

AMD gained on Intel in the first quarter. Intel garnered a 77.3 percent unit market share, a loss of 4.7 percent, while AMD had a 22.3 percent share, a gain of 4.6 … Read more

Updated at 12:20 p.m. PST with additional information about salary cuts.

Nvidia is buying up underwater stock options from employees and cutting salaries across the company amid a steep revenue falloff.

On Tuesday, the graphics chip supplier posted a fourth-quarter loss of just under $148 million and a 60 percent drop in revenue as demand for its graphics chips dried up.

"November fell off a cliff," said CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, addressing the decrease in demand, during an earnings conference call Tuesday. Chief Financial Officer Marvin Burkett added that "December was worse."

In the aftermath … Read more

Worldwide PC processor shipments fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008, though Intel's Atom chip bucked the trend, according to new data from IDC.

In the fourth quarter, processor unit shipments declined 17 percent quarter over quarter and 11.4 percent year over year, while market revenue declined 18 percent over the previous quarter and 22.2 percent compared to the year-earlier period to $6.78 billion, IDC said.

"The decline in PC processor unit shipments in the fourth quarter was the worst sequential decline since IDC started tracking processor shipments in 1996," said Shane Rau, … Read more

Correction, 2:44 p.m. PST: This story initially misstated the day Nvidia slashed its revenue guidance by up to 50 percent. It was January 13.

Nvidia posted a fourth-quarter loss of just under $148 million and a 60 percent drop in revenue as demand plummeted.

On Tuesday, the largest graphics chip supplier reported a loss of $147.7 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with a profit of $257 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company posted revenue of $481.1 million, down 60 percent from the $1.2 … Read more

Jon Peddie Research said Thursday that estimated graphics chip shipments in the fourth quarter plummeted 34 percent from the third quarter--a very atypical month-to-month decline.

"The fourth quarter is usually a positive quarter for the computer industry. There has obviously been some inventory problems in the quarter," said Jon Peddie, president of Tiburon Calif.-based research firm, in a statement.

And it will get worse. "We're...bracing for what will probably be the worst Q1 and Q2 decline we've seen since the Internet bubble pop of 2000," he warned.

Total shipments of GPUs for … Read more