Semiconductor giant Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) reported strong third quarter earnings after the market close today, sending shares up nicely in after-hours trading.Going into this afternoon's earnings announcement, analysts had been expecting to see the chip maker show earnings of 34 cents per share, but the company was able to top analyst estimates by a penny, with a reported 35 cents per share.
The 35 cents that the company showed for its third quarter is not only impressive because it was above analyst estimates, but also because of how much stronger it was on a year over year basis. During the same period last year, the company had earnings of 30 cents per share.
A lot of attention in the market lately has been focused on the credit crunch and subsequent economic slowdown, and many investors have been left wondering if the overall slowdown had also impacted technology. Today's report should calm some of those concerns, but Intel did warn that it could see slowdown in demand in the fourth quarter.
The company stated that a big reason for the better-than-expected numbers were a result of improved gross margins. During its most recent quarter, the company had a gross margin of 58.9%, compared with 51.2% during the same period last year.
All in all, a great quarter for the company, and traders are rewarding the stock in after-hours trading, pushing shares up 4.5% after the news was released.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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