Intel (INTC) will report its first quarter earnings on Thursday, the company’s first since Lip-Bu Tan took the reins of the ailing chip giant last month.
Intel isn’t just dealing with bringing on a new CEO amid a massive turnaround, though. Like the rest of the tech industry, it’s also girding itself for the potential impact of President Trump’s trade war with China.
While Intel produces the bulk of its chips in the US, it is still susceptible to tariffs on laptops and other systems built in China. And while laptops and other computers are exempt from tariffs for now, the Trump administration has said that it plans to reintroduce duties on those devices when it launches tariffs on semiconductors in the coming weeks and months.
Intel stock is down more than 2% year to date and 43% over the past 12 months.
For the first quarter, Intel is expected to report adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01 on revenue of $12.3 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. That’s down from the $0.18 per share and $12.7 billion Intel reported in the same period last year.
Analysts expect Intel to report client computing revenue of $6.9 billion, down from $7.5 billion in Q1 2024, with both laptop and computer chip sales declining year over year.
As of 3:41:28 PM EDT. Market Open.
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But Intel could benefit from pull forward of laptop and desktop sales as customers scrambled to get in their purchases ahead of Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, according to Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. But that could hurt the company in the back half of the year.
“For Intel we adjust estimates, putting in a bit of client-related upside in the 1H to reflect potential for pull-forward / channel fill in the wake of tariff dynamics, but now followed by a 2H channel flush; we also take our 2025 PC growth assumptions from [low single-digits] to flat [year-over-year],” he wrote in a note to investors.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Data center and AI segment revenue is anticipated to top out at $2.9 billion, down from $3.0 billion. Intel Foundry is set to come in at $4.3 billion, just off last year’s $4.36 billion in revenue.
During his first public comments as CEO at Intel Vision 2025, Tan laid out his plans for the company while acknowledging the weight of the task ahead of him.
“For quite a long time, we fell behind on innovation. As a result, we have been too slow to adapt and to meet your needs. You deserve better, and we need to improve. And we will,” Tan said during the event.
