On Oct 26, Intel forecast fourth-quarter revenue and margins that exceeded Wall Street expectations, citing a healthy rebound in personal computer sales, improvement in its data centre business, and a growing list of customers seeking its manufacturing services. While Intel continues to face intense competition from Nvidia in the data centre chip market, the easing PC slump and stabilisation of its server chip business helped raise gross margins faster than analysts expected. The company's executives had warned that significant margin growth could take until next year.

After the closing bell, shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company rose 8%.

The company has also secured three customers for its chip contract manufacturing business, with Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger telling Reuters that he expects to close a fourth deal before the end of the year.

According to analysts at research firm Canalys, the decline in global PC shipments narrowed to 7% in the third quarter after double-digit percentage drops earlier this year, and the market is set to return to growth during the highly anticipated holiday season.

According to LSEG data, the company expects adjusted current-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion to $15.6 billion, compared to an estimate of $14.35 billion.

The company anticipates a fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share of about 44 cents, which is higher than the 32 cents predicted by analysts.

Heavy manufacturing investments to support Gelsinger's turnaround plans have drained the company's gross margin, which fell to the mid-30s in the second quarter from more than 60% in 2020. According to LSEG data, the adjusted gross margin was 45.8 percent in the third quarter, compared to 42.7 percent expected.