Intel beats forecasts with profits and revenue rise

Intel beat revenue and profit expectations for the first quarter on Thursday, driven by higher demand for chips from data centres and personal computers. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker rose 5.2 per cent to $55.85 (€46.11)after the bell on Wall Street.

Intel has been focused on transforming itself from a supplier of personal computers to a maker of chips for growing data centre business and newer areas such as driverless cars and artificial intelligence.

The company’s net income rose to $4.45 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, from $2.96 billion, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier. Net revenue rose to $16.07 billion from $14.80 billion.

Microsoft’s quarterly profit rose 35 per cent, as more businesses signed up to its Azure cloud computing services and Office 365 productivity suite.

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Microsoft said that net income rose to $7.42 billion or 95 cents per share in the third quarter ended March 31st, from $5.49 billion or 70 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $26.82 billion from $23.21 billion.

Amazon reported first-quarter revenue and profit that trounced analysts’ estimates, driven by a surge in online shopping and higher demand for its cloud services.

Amazon, whose shares were up 7.1 per cent in after-hours trading, forecast net sales of between $51 billion and $54 billion for the current quarter. Net sales in North America, its biggest market, jumped 46.4 per cent to $30.73 billion in the latest quarter.

Amazon, which reported it had over 100 million Prime subscribers last week, said its net sales rose to $51.04 billion from $35.7 billion, a year earlier, beating the average analyst estimate of $49.78 billion.

Revenue from Amazon Web Services, the company’s fast-growing cloud services business, soared 48.6 per cent to $5.44 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $5.25 billion.

Amazon’s total operating expenses rose 41.5 per cent to $49.12 billion, as the company invests heavily into expanding its Prime program, creating original video content and building its warehouse and delivery infrastructure.

In the non-tech sector Starbucks’ sales at established cafes in its US-dominated Americas region grew slightly more than expected in the latest quarter amid increasing competition from upscale independent cafes, convenience stores and fast-food chains. Sales at Americas region cafes rose 2 per cent in the second quarter ended April 1st, Starbucks said on Thursday.