Texas Instruments Slashes 4Q Outlook, Shares Down 6%

Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) slashed its fourth-quarter financial projections well below Wall Street’s expectations amid deteriorating demand, sending the chip maker’s stock tumbling more than 6% in extended trading late Thursday.

The Dallas-based company said it now expects fourth-quarter EPS to range between 21 cents and 25 cents, down from 28 cents to 36 cents previously. It’s not clear if the new guidance includes any unusual items, but the previous one included 15 cents per share in costs. Analysts had been calling for EPS of 48 cents.

Revenue for the current quarter is now seen between $3.19 billion and $3.33 billion, compared with estimates from analysts for $3.41 billion. TI previously projected revenue of $3.26 billion to $3.54 billion.

“The reductions are due to broadly lower demand across a wide range of markets, customers and products, except for Wireless applications processors,” Texas Instruments said in its statement, which was released after the markets closed.

Wall Street punished the company’s stock for the news, driving it lower by 6.1% to $28.01 in late trading. By closing at $29.92, Texas Instruments was already off 5.6% on the year.

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Separately, semiconductor Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) downgraded its fourth-quarter revenue forecast, projecting a 13% to 15% tumble, compared with 7% to 11% previously.

The gloomy forecasts appeared to weigh on other semiconductors, including Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell about 1% in extended trading.