SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After chip maker Intel Corp. cut its fourth-quarter revenue outlook Monday due to hard disk drive shortages stemming from massive flooding in Thailand, shares for the entire sector sank.
Only stocks of financial companies fell more sharply as their industry was dogged by renewed anxiety over the debt crisis in Europe.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., now expects fourth-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion to $14 billion, down from $14.2 billion to $15.2 billion during the key holiday quarter. Wall Street was looking for revenue of $14.65 billion, according to FactSet.
Shares of Intel, the world’s largest maker of microprocessors, fell $1.08, or 4.3 percent, to $23.94 Monday afternoon.
Shares of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. slipped 24 cents, also 4.3 percent, to $5.30.
Shares of Texas Instruments, meanwhile, were down 84cents, or 2.8 percent, trading at $29.10.
Intel did say it expects PC sales to rise from the previous quarter, but not as much as it expected because companies are reducing their inventories due to shortages of hard drives.
Jefferies analyst Mark Lipacis said Intel was due to lower its forecast. Last month, AMD announced it would cut 1,400 jobs with personal computer sales slowing and delays in manufacturing. Texas Instruments Inc. lowered its fourth-quarter guidance last week.
Floods in Thailand have disrupted computer production because many companies have facilities there. Research firm iSuppli said earlier that it expects global PC shipments to total 84.2 million in the first three months of 2012, down from a previous estimate of 88 million. Intel also said it expects hard drive supply shortages to continue into the first quarter.
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