Intel Beats Q4 Views, Sees Narrowing Gross Margin

Intel Corporation INTC beat fourth-quarter profit views Thursday, but said its gross margin will slip 5.4 points sequentially in the current period.

The company changed hands in the extended session at $35.73, down a little over 1 percent.

The company posted fourth-quarter profit of $3.7 billion or $0.74 a share, on revenue of $14.72 billion, versus analysts' expectation of $0.66 on revenue of $14.7 billion.

Intel forecast first-quarter revenue of $13.7 billion and a gross margin of 60 percent, versus 65.4 percent in the recent fourth quarter.

Wall Street expects first-quarter revenue of $13.77 billion.

Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said in 2015 the company aims to "improve our profitability in mobile, and keep Intel focused on the next wave of computing."

Year-earlier results included profits of $2.61 billion, or $0.51 a share, on revenue of $13.8 billion.

In the recent fourth quarter, Intel posted PC Client Group revenue of $8.9 billion, down 3 percent sequentially and up 3 percent from a year earlier.

Data Center Group revenue grew sequentially 11 percent to $4.1 billion, up up 25 percent from last year.

The company's Internet of Things Group posted revenue of $591 million, up 12 percent sequentially and up 10 percent year-over-year.