Tech stocks: Intel earnings rise on strong chip demand

Intel Corp., symbol INTC on Nasdaq, is the world’s leading computer-chip maker.

For the first quarter of 2011, the company reported record revenue of $12.9 billion. That’s up 25.0% from $10.3 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Two acquisitions in the 2011 quarter contributed $496 million to revenue. The tech stock’s earnings jumped 33.8%, to $3.3 billion, or $0.59 per share, from $2.5 billion, or $0.43 a share.

Intel saw strong demand in all product lines and all markets around the world. Revenue for the tech stock’s PC Client Group (microprocessors and motherboards for notebooks, desktop computers, and wireless connectivity products) rose 17%. The Data Center Group (microprocessors and motherboards for servers, workstations, storage and wired network connectivity products) gained 32%. The Other Intel Architecture Group (components for phones, embedded applications, netbooks and tablets, consumer electronics and handhelds) jumped by 70%.

Intel spent $1.9 billion (or 14.9% of revenue) on research in the latest quarter. That’s up 22.5% from $1.6 billion (or 15.2% of revenue) a year earlier. The tech stock’s research spending is giving it a steady stream of new products to fuel its growth.

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