3dfx sees another quarterly letdown

Put 3dfx (Nasdaq: TDFX) on the list of companies blaming Europe for weak sales.

After market close Thursday, the maker of PC cards for 3D graphics acceleration said revenue and earnings for the fiscal third quarter would be "substantially" lower than the company expected. "While our U.S. retail market share continues to grow, the overall European market has experienced severe weakness," said Alex Leupp, president and CEO.

The lone analyst surveyed by First Call predicted a loss of 30 cents per share for 3dfx's third quarter, which ends Oct. 31.

Shares of 3dfx traded at 3.1562 in afterhours activity on the Island electronic communications network, immediately following the earnings warning. 3dfx stock closed Thursday's regular trading at 3.5, down 0.25 for the session.

Other companies dependent on the PC market, including Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), have warned of European softness recently.

However, Thursday's announcement is merely the latest financial stumble for 3dfx, which reported disappointing financial results in five of the six previous quarters, including the most recent one ended in July.>