Intel: People are buying more, but cheaper laptops

Intel shipped 11 percent more processors for PCs in the quarter, and that growth is entirely attributable to laptop processors. The turnover from this rose, but Intel mainly supplied cheaper processors for entry-level and school laptops.

Intel’s revenue from the Client Computing Group, which includes sales of processors for PCs, increased 1 percent in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year to $ 9.8 billion, equivalent to $ 8.29 billion. Notebook processor sales increased 16 percent; that of desktop processors decreased by 16 percent.

Intel delivered 11 percent more processors than in the third quarter of last year, but that involved relatively much cheaper processors. According to Intel, more entry-level laptops and models were sold for schools and there was a shift from business to consumer laptops and from desktops to laptops.

As a result, the average sales price of a delivered laptop processor was 7 percent lower than last year. The average sales price of a desktop processor, which is higher than that of a laptop processor, remained the same. Research firms also noted this month that the laptop market is growing. The increase in working from home in particular would be responsible for this.

Intel total quarterly sales were $ 18.3 billion, $ 0.9 billion lower than last year. The revenue of the Data Center Group fell by 7 percent, mainly due to a significant drop of 47 percent in revenue from the enterprise and government markets. These segments have resulted in significant growth in recent years and in the past two quarters revenue growth was also 30 percent. Intel says the sudden decline was caused by the corona crisis. Moreover, the data centers would also choose cheaper chips; According to Intel, the average sales price even fell by 93 percent.

Finally, Internet of Things Group revenue also fell 33 percent to $ 677 million. Intel sees the Internet of Things as a growth market, but the corona crisis would also have a negative impact on the results here. Despite the headwinds, Intel ultimately managed to achieve a quarterly profit of $ 4.3 billion, but that was less than the 6 billion dollar last year.