Intel posts 4Q profit, results top Street expectations

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Intel Corp. (INTC) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit climbed by 39 percent to $3.66 billion.

The Santa Clara, California-based company said it had profit of 74 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 66 cents per share.

The world's largest chipmaker posted revenue of $14.72 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Analysts expected $14.71 billion, according to Zacks.

For the year, the company said profit increased 22 percent to $11.7 billion, or $2.31 per share. Revenue rose 6 percent to $55.87 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, Intel said it expects revenue in the range of $13.2 billion to $14.2 billion.

Intel shares have declined slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has dropped 3 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $36.13, an increase of 35 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on INTC at http://www.zacks.com/ap/INTC

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Keywords: Intel, Earnings Report