Bob Swan’s latest quarterly as Intel CEO before handing over the scepter to Pat Gelsinger closes a record year : the US company reached in 2020 a turnover of 77, $ 9 billion , in growth of 8% over the previous year. In fourth quarter sales reached 20 billions of dollars, above the October expectations of 2.6 billion, but in 1% decrease over the same period of 2019. Earnings per share of 1, 42 dollars, albeit down by 10 %, exceeded forecasts.

Net profit stopped at $ 5.9 billion, – 15%, even if taking as reference the result of the whole year it proved to be quite stable, losing only the 1% and thus decreasing to 20, $ 9 billion. In this case the impact of taxation, which has risen since 14, 4% al 21, 8%, made themselves heard. “We significantly exceeded our expectations for the quarter, crowning our fifth consecutive record year “, commented the outgoing CEO. “The demand for the computing power that Intel offers remains strong and our focus on growth opportunities is paying off. It has been an honor to lead this magnificent company and I am proud of what we have achieved as a team. Intel is in a strong financial position. and strategic at a time when we concretize this strategic transition and take Intel to the next level “.

	Q4 2020	Q4 2019	vs. Q4 2019
Turnover (billions of dollars)	20	20,2	– 1%
Gross margin	56, 8%	58, 8%	– 2 ppt
R&D and MG&A (billions of dollars)	5.4	5	+ 9%
Operating margin	29, 5 %	33, 6%	– 4.2 ppt
Tax rate	21, 8%	14, 4%	+ 7.4 ppt
Net profit (billions of dollars)	5.9	6.9	– 15%
Earnings per share (dollars)	1, 42	1, 58	– 10%

The pandemic has been a cure-all for Intel’s accounts , with millions of consumers who found themselves having to renew their technological equipment ( notebook in particular) due to the new needs of remote work and study. Online service providers have also had to upgrade their datacenters to meet a renewed demand from their customers. However, not everything is “roses and flowers” from a financial point of view. The gross margin remains below the 60%, a historical “psychological” value for the company, stopping at 56, 8% in the quarter (down by 2 points on the same period of ‘last year) due to both greater production investments and the competitive and economic situation.

In the fourth quarter it was particularly the CCG division (Client Computing Group) , that of the CPUs for notebooks and desktop PCs, with a turnover up 9% at 10, $ 9 billion . Overall, in 2020, the division grew by 8% achieving sales for 40, $ 1 billion. Intel said it saw a + 33% in fourth quarter CPU sales, backed by record-breaking notebook sales.

	2020	2019	vs. 2019
Turnover (billions of dollars)	77, 9	72	+ 8%
Gross margin	56%	58, 6%	– 2.5 ppt
R&D and MG & A (billions of dollars)	19, 7	19, 7	–
Operating margin	30, 4%	30, 6%	– 0.2 ppt
Tax rate	16, 7%	12, 5%	+ 4.2 ppt
Net profit (billions of dollars)	20, 9	21	– 1%
Helpful per share (dollars)	4, 94	4, 71	+ 5%
Flow of operating cash	35, 4	33, 1	+ 7%

“We are seeing a very strong market response to our 11th Generation Tiger Lake CPU Core PCs . Our customers offer over 150 systems, well above expectations. We believe we have gained market share in terms of CPU units in the PC sector with a growth of 33% in the quarter . In a market where competitors are facing problems supply, this is a clear example of the incredible value and scale of our network of factories as we continue We want to offer greater performance and cost efficiency to our customers “, the company management pointed out.

Looking at the sales volumes in detail, it turns out that most of the growth is due to notebooks . Volumes registered by desktop processors increased by 22% on Q3 2020, with a decrease of 7% on Q4 2019 he was born in 01% in the comparison between the integer 2020 and the 2010. Turnover related to laptops has soared by 30% compared to the same period last year, with volumes increased by 54% on Q4 2019, although with a decrease in the average price linked to the sale of a greater number of models to low cost, especially Chromebooks.

The division of servers , Data Center Group ( DCG ) saw turnover stop at $ 6.1 billion in the fourth quarter, down 16% on Q4 2019, but the trend over the whole year is clear: + 11% to 26, 1 billion. The quarterly figure is due to a mix of factors, from AMD’s increased competition with EPYC CPUs (which is reflected in a falling average price of 12% in Q4 and 3% year-on-year by virtue of the heavily lowered price lists of Xeon CPUs compared to the past) to the macroeconomic environment to arrive at a physiological slowdown in investments from the cloud sector after the previous quarters.

Intel Divisions	Q4 2020	vs. Q4 2019	2020	vs. 2019
Centric date
DCG	6.1 billion	– 16%	26, 1 billion	+ 11%
Internet of Things
IOTG	777 millions	– 16%	3 billion	– 21%
Mobileye	333 millions	+ 39%	967 millions	+ 10%
NSG	1.2 billion	– 1%	5.4 billion	+ 23%
PSG	422 millions	– 16%	1.9 billion	– 7%
		– 11%		+ 9%
PC centric
CCG	10, 9 billion	+ 9%	40, 1 billion	+ 8%

Sales records also for Mobileye , the Israeli company that offers assisted and autonomous driving solutions, which in the quarter reached 333 million dollars (+ 39%) , while the IOTG (Internet of Things Group) division lost the 16% to 777 Millions of dollars. The NSG (Non-volatile Memory Storage Group) and PSG (Programmable Solutions Group) segments close the picture, with revenues down by 1% and respectively) %, although over the entire year the NSG division has developed a + 23% (pity that the NAND business is destined for SK hynix).

In the 2020 Intel has invested 13, 6 billion in research and development and 14, 3 billion were injected into the purchase of new machinery and the upgrading of production , “while focusing on strengthening our CPU core business, improving execution and accelerating growth,” the company added. Intel expects revenue in the first fiscal quarter 2021 of about 18, $ 6 billion , where last year it touched 19, 8 billion: however, it must be remembered that the world was starting to seriously face the pandemic and consequently Intel benefited of an initial surge in technology purchases.