Intel Faces Record Losses in Q1 Due to Sharp Decline in PC Sales

On April 28th, Intel, a leading chip manufacturer, has reported its largest quarterly loss in history due to the sharp decline in PC sales and slow recovery. The company's first-quarter revenue was $11.7 billion, a 36% YoY decline and the lowest level since 2010. However, this figure was slightly better than the average analyst expectation of $11.04 billion.

PC sales represent a significant portion of Intel's revenue, and according to research firm IDC, PC shipments in Q1 fell by 29%, continuing the downward trend that began last year. Intel's PC chip division's revenue also dropped 38% YoY to $5.8 billion.

David Zinsner, Intel's CFO, believes that once PC manufacturers clear out their excess chip inventory and start placing new orders, the market will return to normal later this year.

The decline in revenue resulted in a net loss of $2.76 billion for Intel in Q1, marking the company's second consecutive quarter of losses and exceeding the previous record loss of $687 million in Q1 2017. The company expects to continue to lose money in the second quarter.

Despite this, Intel predicts that its Q2 revenue will be between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion, slightly better than analysts' expectations, which caused the stock price to rise more than 6% in after-hours trading.