Intel Posts $9.7 Billion Q1 Earnings

Intel recorded Q1 revenue of $9.7 billion, up 9% year over year, gross margin up 4 points and operating income up 23%.0

Intel Corp announced that its Q1 revenue hit a record high of $9.7 billion, with operating income of $2.1 billion, net income of $1.4 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of 25 cents.

Nasdaq tech stocks saw a boost Thursday afternoon.

"The first quarter marked a very good start to 2008, driven by strong industry demand for our leading edge processors and chipsets. Our revenues grew 9 0.000000rom the first quarter of last year while operating income improved by 23%.0 Our improved financial performance and strong balance sheet allowed us to pay a record dividend in the quarter, announce a dividend increase, and buy back $2.5 billion worth of stock -- decisions we made to increase returns for our shareholders," Intel CEO Paul Otellini said.

The chip maker noted a particularly strong demand for 45 nm products and said it is continuing to ramp that process rapidly, both in terms of volumes as well as in the breadth of product offerings.

Intel said the company saw all regions grow over last year with North America standing.

The complete supply/demand equation for processors and chipsets appears to be healthy and in balance, while the server business had a particularly strong quarter, turning in an all-time record in revenues.

"First, we saw notable strength in the high-end, multi-processor segment, particularly in North America. This is due to the ramp of our Caneland MP platform. Second, in the higher volume dual processor category, we saw quad-core shipments continue to grow and now represent a majority of our Xeon DP shipments. And lastly, we saw our total Xeon processor shipments cross over to 45-nanometer based products during the quarter, further extending our leadership in this high volume segment," Otellini said.

Intel’s desktop PC business also had a solid quarter, with good year-over-year growth.