Intel Is Banking On The 'Year Of AI PC' And 'Record' Notebook Shipments As Its Consumer Chips Stage A Rebound

Chip maker Intel Corp. INTC is banking on Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT vision of 2024 as the "year of AI PC" and a record number of notebook shipments in its consumers to stage a rebound.

What Happened: Intel reported a "record performance" of its consumer-focused notebook shipments during the December quarter.

"We saw sustained strength in gaming and commercial segments, along with record performance of notebook shipments in the quarter," said Intel CFO David Zinsner in a post-earnings conference call.

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Intel reported a 10% year-on-year increase in its fourth-quarter revenue to $15.4 billion, beating a Wall Street consensus of $15.16 billion estimate, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Leading the revenue growth was the Client Computing Group (CCG) with a 33% year-on-year growth in revenue to $8.8 billion.

Zinsner added that customer inventory levels have "normalized" and PC shipments during the year were "in line" with the company's expectations.

According to data from industry tracker IDC, global PC shipments in 2023 stood at 259.5 million, almost recovering to pre-Covid levels of 261 million units.

Banking On AI: Intel is also banking on the rise of AI pushing consumers to buy new PCs going forward.

The "age of AI PC further enhances the value of device refresh," Zinsner said. His sentiments were echoed by analyst firm Counterpoint Research, which said that the global PC industry is showing "early signs of recovery."

Microsoft has also been increasingly focusing on integrating AI in its products and services across the spectrum – this includes Windows, Office, the Edge browser, Bing, and even GitHub.

The Windows maker is betting big on AI-powered Copilot, adding a dedicated key to the keyboard in its bid to make 2024 the "year of AI PC."

"We see this as another transformative moment in our journey with Windows where Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC," said Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Microsoft.

Microsoft and Intel's AI push could help global PC shipments rise above pre-Covid levels after three years. However, it remains to be seen if this actually materializes.

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