Intel appears to be feeling the competitive heat from AMD

Intel INTC, -0.48% appears to beryllium addressing the contented by showing a willingness to chop prices portion warring with AMD for customers and reorganizing its data-center operations. Investors volition person to find cheer successful that, due to the fact that a so-so third-quarter forecast, contempt an unprecedented and continuing semiconductor shortage, sent shares down 2.6% successful after-hours trading Thursday.

Declines successful Intel’s wide mean selling price, oregon ASP, particularly raised eyebrows. Intel executives said that “strength successful user introduction and education” products led to little wide ASPs, but Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger aboriginal admitted successful answering an analyst’s question that competitory factors played an important role.

“Some of that’s competitive-driven, a small spot of that is mix-driven, but a spot much competitive,” Gelsinger said. “Our outlook determination is that we spot reasonably unchangeable pricing and marketplace conception stock successful the data-center concern for the 2nd fractional of the twelvemonth and that’s driven by — I’ll conscionable accidental we are bringing everything we’ve got to the array to proceed to triumph backmost the market.” The company’s main fiscal officer, George Davis, predicted information halfway would instrumentality to maturation successful the 3rd and 4th quarters.

But falling prices could besides impact margins. Angelo Zino, an expert with CFRA Research, said successful a little enactment aft the telephone that helium has “concerns astir the competitory landscape” owed to pricing declines successful some the company’s computing and data-center segments. He besides expects to spot a fig of gross borderline pressures going forward.

Gelsinger besides said that a caller reorganization Intel did past period puts much absorption connected the high-performance computing business, wherever AMD has besides made large inroads. AMD is gaining crushed successful the supercomputer space, with its Epyc chips present powering 49 of the apical 500 supercomputers, up from 11 of the apical 500 supercomputers a twelvemonth ago.

While consecutive declines successful the data-center assemblage are a atrocious motion for Intel, it seems that its caller CEO is consenting to combat backmost against a resurgent rival successful AMD. But helium volition request to travel done connected the company’s prediction that maturation to that all-important concern volition instrumentality successful the 2nd half.