Intel misses estimates as it shifts toward ultra-mobiles

Intel missed analyst estimates for the second fiscal quarter, reporting slightly lower profits, plus revenue that climbed just 2 percent versus a year ago.

Intel reported profits of $2.0 billion, down 2 percent from a year ago, on second-quarter revenue of $12.8 billion, up 2 percent from the same period.

Intel’s Brian Krzanich
Newly-appointed chief executive Brian Krzanich said that the company would continue to develop microprocessors and other products for all segments of the market, with a special emphasis on low-power, ultra-mobile computers. But the company has suffered as customers increasingly turn to mobile phones and tablets for their computing needs, and away from the personal computers that Intel has long powered.
Intel’s revenue in the PC Client Group fell 7.5 percent year over year, a victim of the continuing slide in the PC market. The division’s revenue climbed 1.4 percent sequentially, however. Even revenue within the Data Center Group, which includes Intel’s high-margin Xeon processors, was flat versus last year, although it grew sequentially by 8.1 percent.

Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expected Intel to report earnings of 40 cents per share, down from 54 cents a year ago, on revenue of $12.9 billion.

“In the second quarter, we delivered on our quarterly outlook and made several key product announcements,” said Krzanich said in a statement. “In my first two months as CEO, I have listened to a wide variety of views about Intel and our industry from customers, employees and my leadership team and I am more confident than ever about our opportunity as a company.”

“Looking ahead, the market will continue buying a wide range of computing products,” Krzanich added. “Intel Atom and Core processors and increased SOC integration will be Intel’s future. We will leave no computing opportunity untapped. To embrace these opportunities, I’ve made it Intel’s highest priority to create the best products for the fast growing ultra-mobile market segment.”

As proof, Krzanich cited its design win into the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, where Intel will ship both an Intel Atom processor and Intel LTE solution to connect it to the Internet.

Intel’s outlook was strong, however, as the company predicted that third-quarter revenues would come in at $13.5 billion, plus or minus $500 million. The company will hold a conference call with analysts later on Wednesday. 

Gartner downgrades 2013 global IT spending forecast on currency shifts

Gartner has lowered its expectations for growth this year in global IT spending, saying it will rise 2 percent to $3.7 trillion. Earlier this year, the analyst firm predicted 2013 growth of 4.1 percent.

The reduction "mainly reflects the impact of recent fluctuations in U.S. dollar exchange rates," Gartner said Tuesday.

Predicted weaker sales for devices played another role in Gartner's downgrade, analyst and managing vice president Richard Gordon said in a statement. Gartner had previously forecast 7.9 percent growth in device revenue, but has now dropped that estimate to 2.8 percent due to continued decline in PC sales.

"While new devices are set to hit the market in the second half of 2013, they will fail to compensate for the underlying weakness of the traditional PC market," Gartner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, tablet sales are expected to grow 38.9 percent and mobile phones 9.3 percent in 2013, according to the announcement. Overall, device revenue will total $695 billion in 2013, Gartner said.

Enterprise software revenue is expected to show the most strength, rising 6.4 percent this year to $304 billion, driven by higher demand for CRM (customer relationship management) software.

Data center systems sales will rise 2.1 percent to $143 billion and IT services revenue is set to jump 2.2 percent to $926 billion, both slightly higher growth rates than in 2012, according to Gartner.

The largest segment in Gartner's survey, telecom spending, will rebound this year, growing 0.9 percent to $1.65 trillion. "Fixed broadband is showing slightly higher than anticipated growth," Gartner said. "The impact of voice substitution is mixed as it is moving faster in the consumer sector, but slightly slower in the enterprise market."

Last year, telecom spending fell 0.7 percent.

Gartner is planning to discuss the forecast in more detail during a webcast July 9.

Gay Marriage Battle Shifts To States

Advocates for gay marriage in New Jersey gather outside the Statehouse on Thursday.

Gay rights activists celebrated two big victories this week before the U.S. Supreme Court, as justices overturned the Defense of Marriage Act and cleared the way for same-sex marriages in California.

Now gay marriage opponents and supporters are turning their attention to individual states, like New Jersey, where polls show most residents support same-sex marriage. So far, one person, Gov. Christ Christie, has stood in the way.

"I believe that the institution of marriage for 2,000 years has been between a man and a woman, and I believe that it should continue to be," Christie said recently on a radio call-in show in Trenton last week.

Heading into a re-election campaign, Christie remains popular, even though most voters in the state disagree with him on this issue. He says advocates should put the issue before voters in November with a referendum.

"The proponents have said all along that the majority of people in New Jersey want it," he told radio listeners. "Well then put it on the ballot and then it'll pass and then it's the end of the discussion."

Privately some gay marriage supporters say they want to avoid an expensive campaign. But more important, they say a referendum is not how they want to win.

Sheila Oliver, speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, says guaranteeing civil rights should be the role of courts and lawmakers. Last year New Jersey's legislature approved a gay marriage bill, but Christie vetoed it.

"Many of our legislative leaders believe that civil rights should not be litigated in a public referendum," Oliver said. "I think the next tactic you will see in the next coming weeks in New Jersey are efforts to get a veto override."

Hayley Gorenberg, an attorney with Lamda Legal, said at a rally Thursday that there's a clear legal argument now to establish same-sex marriages in the Garden State. New Jersey already has civil unions, but gay rights groups want full marriage.

"Based on the Supreme Court decision, we will file a motion for summary judgment for an immediate ruling that same-sex couples be allowed to marry," Gorenberg told supporters.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, several Democratic lawmakers are introducing same-sex marriage legislation. But those bills will likely have an uphill battle in the Republican-dominated legislature.

On Wednesday, Democratic State Rep. Brian Sims, who is gay, tried to make a statement on the House floor, but Republicans blocked him.

Speaking on member station WHYY, GOP State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said he felt
obliged to stop Sims from making comments "that ultimately were just open rebellion against what the word of God has said, what God has said, and just open rebellion against God's law."

Most states in the U.S. don't allow same-sex marriages. But now, with California, about 30 percent of the U.S. population will live in states that do have gay marriage. Supporters believe the list of states will grow.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says he hopes his state will soon make gay marriage legal. There's talk of campaigns and legal battles in places like Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Ohio.

Colorado allows civil unions, but University of Denver law professor Kris Miccio says she wants full marriage. She believes the Supreme Court's rulings last week give her a good argument to make in court. So she and her partner have a plan.

"We're going to be married the Saturday after Thanksgiving in New York," Miccio said. "And then coming back to Colorado and filing suit."

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Same Sex Marriage Fight Shifts Back To States

Allan Hoyle of North Carolina (center) protests gay marriage outside the Supreme Court.

The dual victories the Supreme Court handed to gay-marriage supporters Wednesday seemed to temporarily shift the focus of the fight from Washington to the states.

For instance, one of the more notable reactions to the Supreme Court decisions overturning the Defense of Marriage Act and upholding a lower court ruling that blocked California's Proposition 8 from taking effect came from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU announced Wednesday it had hired well-connected GOP political strategist Steve Schmidt, who worked for President George W. Bush and was a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, to lead an effort to gain Republican support for gay marriage in the states. The civil liberties group, which helped represent plaintiff Edie Windsor in the case that overturned DOMA, said it had amassed a $10 million war chest for the effort.

The ACLU said it had also hired Jimmy LaSalvia, founder of the gay-rights group GOProud, in an attempt to add conservatives to its coalition to overturn state bans.

In its statement, the ACLU explained:

"Schmidt's role will be to help spearhead the campaign to strike down state-based laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. The campaign will, over the next four years, challenge legislative and constitutional provisions in states such as Illinois, Oregon, Hawaii, New Mexico, and others. The ACLU aims to spend roughly $10 million through 2016 and will officially announce the initiative with an ad in tomorrow's edition of The Wall Street Journal."

Meanwhile, David Boies, a supporter of Democratic causes and one of two famous lawyers who represented Proposition 8 opponents (the other was Ted Olson, a conservative Republican and former U.S. solicitor general), also made clear that after Wednesday's court rulings he saw the gay-rights battles largely shifting to the states.

In a Bloomberg TV interview, Boies said:

"The next step is to be sure that this marriage equality is extended to every one of the 50 states. The United States Supreme Court made clear today that you have a right to marry, that there is no basis for discrimination."

Boies said his read of the Supreme Court opinions, especially Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent, suggested that even Scalia interpreted the court's majority as ruling that there was "a right to marry in every one of the 50 states."

Boies added: "Tomorrow, we will sit down and figure out what is the way to most quickly bring marriage equality to all 50 states. ... There are people all over this country that are litigating these issues. There are enough people who believe in marriage equality to bring that issue to every state in this country. And hopefully what you will find is that after today's opinion, states will voluntarily adopt marriage equality."

But as much as supporters of same-sex marriage looked to intensify the fight in the states, opponents also placed their hopes on the states to slow or stop any momentum the other side gained.

In their view, the Supreme Court did no such thing as recognize a constitutional right to marry.

At a Capitol Hill news conference, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Kansas Republican, said:

"One good thing out of the decision was the court did not declare that there was a constitutional right for same-sex marriage. ... The state of Kansas will be able to maintain its marriage amendment which I helped author a number of years ago."

Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a Missouri Republican, suggested that when it comes to the states, the numbers are on their side:

"Thirty-eight states have affirmed the belief of their citizens that marriage exists between a man and a woman and is a necessary building block of a stable society. The debate over marriage will continue with the states leading the way. We must work to defend the right of Americans to make marriage policy."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor also pointed beyond Washington to salvage matters for those opposed to same-sex marriage. Though a brief statement, it was significant, since he made no suggestion that the GOP-controlled House would take another run at a same-sex marriage law:

"I'm disappointed in this decision, and the marriage debate will continue in the states."

 

News Corp.'s Julie Henderson Shifts to 21st Century Fox

News Corp. Chief Communications Officer Julie Henderson will land at 21st Century Fox with a promotion.

That arm of the company will house Fox's television and film studios, as well as Fox News, once the planned company split takes effect this Friday.

Henderson will also take on the title of Executive Vice President, handling corporate communications, as well as building and managing the 21st Century Fox brand.

"Julie is an invaluable member of our executive team, and her work in effectively communicating our vision and corporate perspective on key issues has become even more vital as we begin a new chapter in our company’s history," News Corp. COO Chase Carey said in a statement.

Henderson previously served as News Corp's Senior Vice President, Communications and Corporate Strategy. She previously worked in News Corp's Fox Interactive Media unit and prior to that ran the digital division at mPRm Public Relations.