Intel: Notebook sales and cloud growth drives record Q3 earnings

Increases in microchip sales for notebook PCs and data servers contributed to Intel’s sixth consecutive quarter of record-breaking revenues and a double-digit increase in net income, the company reported in its third quarter 2011 earnings report today.

Intel reported $14.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter 2011, up $3.1 billion compared to a year ago — a 28 percent increase. McAfee and Intel Mobile Communications contributed $1.1 billion in revenue to the company’s top line in the quarter. The numbers beat analysts’ $13.9 billion prediction for the quarter.

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Its net income for the third quarter 2011 was $3.47 billion (or 65 cents per share), up from 2.96 billion (or 52 cents per share) from a year ago — a 17 percent increase.

“Intel delivered record-setting results again in Q3, surpassing $14 billion in revenue for the first time, driven largely by double-digit unit growth in notebook PCs,” said Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, in Santa Clara, Calif. “We also saw continued strength in the data center fueled by the ongoing growth of mobile and cloud computing.”

Revenue from Intel’s low-powered Atom CPU and associated chipsets — found in many low-power netbooks and some tablets — continued its downward trend. Third quarter 2011 revenue for the Atom was $269 million, down 32 percent compared to a year ago.

Intel predicts it will make between $14.2 billion to $15.2 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011.