SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. chipmaker Intel reported Thursday that its third-quarter revenue rose 21 percent year on year to 16.51 billion U.S. dollars, driven by strong growth in its data center and artificial intelligence business, while net income declined 18 percent.
According to the company's financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 26, net income attributable to Intel fell to 3.32 billion dollars from 4.06 billion dollars a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share decreased to 0.6 dollars from 0.9 dollars.
The company's gross margin increased to 43 percent from 38.2 percent a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share rose to 0.52 dollars from 0.23 dollars.
Revenue from Intel's Data Center and AI segment jumped 78 percent year on year to 7.3 billion dollars, marking the company's strongest data center revenue growth in 15 years.
Revenue from its Client Computing and Physical AI Group declined 5 percent to 8.1 billion dollars, reflecting continued challenges in the personal computer market.
Intel Foundry, the company's semiconductor manufacturing business, reported revenue of 6.7 billion dollars, up 58 percent year on year. The figure includes transactions with other Intel business units.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said demand for the company's central processing units remained robust despite near-term headwinds in the PC industry, adding that increasing supply to meet demand for Xeon server processors was an immediate priority.
Looking ahead, Intel expects fourth-quarter revenue of between 15 billion and 16 billion dollars. The company forecasts diluted earnings per share attributable to Intel of 0.10 dollars under GAAP and 0.25 dollars on a non-GAAP basis.
Intel also projects a GAAP gross margin of 37.1 percent for the fourth quarter, down from 43 percent in the third quarter.
