Intel, like the rest of the economy, is facing the hard facts that the world is in a recession. Intel posted its earnings today of "approximately $8.2 billion, down 20 percent sequentially and down 23 percent year over year."
To no surprise this is below the Wall St. forecast and the shares took a hit today they were down 6.05% at 4PM. Full earnings will be distributed on January 15th as previously announced.
It appears that this pre-release statement was posted by Intel to help ease the blow the stock would have taken on January 15th if they had not pre-warned Wall St. Despite the recession Intel is still in good shape to remain a strong competitor in the silicon industry. The wide diversification of its products and services from silicone to Clearwire will help keep the company balanced for the foreseeable future.