Intel has reported better-than-expected Q3 results, marking a notable recovery in demand for its x86 processors and an improvement in profitability. This report comes as the US government became the group's largest shareholder in August, holding 10% of its capital following a federal investment of $8.9bn. Revenue reached $13.65bn, compared with $13.14bn anticipated, while adjusted earnings per share amounted to 23 cents. On the stockmarket, the share price gained nearly 6% after this publication and has risen 87% since January.
Net income was $4.1bn, or 90 cents per share, after a loss of $16.6bn a year earlier. Intel forecasts median revenue of $13.3bn and adjusted EPS of 8 cents for the current quarter, in line with expectations. Management said that the accounting treatment of the government investment remains unprecedented and may require adjustments once the method is validated by the SEC. The federal investment for the quarter amounted to $5.7bn.
The group also formalized a strategic partnership with Nvidia, which has invested $5bn in Intel to jointly develop processors combining CPUs and GPUs for artificial intelligence. Sales in the PC division reached $8.5bn, up y-o-y, while the data center division declined 1% to $4.1bn. Intel Foundry, its foundry business, generated $4.2bn, exclusively from internal consumption. The group says that demand still exceeds its production capacity and that this tension could continue until 2026.
