Does Intel’s Outlook Really Stink?

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results on Thursday after the bell. The stock spiked to close 2.58 percent higher immediately before the markets closed, but took a 5.2 percent slide after the report hit the wires because of weak expectations for 2013.

What Do the Numbers Look Like?

For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $13.5 billion, a 2.8 percent drop from the same period last year. Net income fell 22.62 percent to $2.6 billion, or $0.48 per diluted share. Analysts were looking for net income of $0.45 per share and revenue of $13.53 billion.

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“The fourth quarter played out largely as expected as we continued to execute through a challenging environment,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO, in the earnings statement. “We made tremendous progress across the business in 2012 as we entered the market for smartphones and tablets, worked with our partners to reinvent the PC, and drove continued innovation and growth in the data center. As we enter 2013, our strong product pipeline has us well positioned to bring a new wave of Intel innovations across the spectrum of computing.”

On a GAAP basis, full-year revenue dropped 1.2 percent to $53.3 billion, while net income dropped 15 percent to just below $11 billion. The company’s full-year gross margin also fell 0.4 points to 62.1 percent.