Intel Down ⇒

Quentin Hardy reporting on Intel for The New York Times:

The company, often cited as a bellwether for technology firms, also said the worsening market meant its gross profit margin would fall to 62 percent, from an earlier expectation of 63 percent.

Bummer. But what do the analysts think?

The PC market has been weak for much of the year, but analysts had previously expected a recovery in the final quarter, after Microsoft releases a new version of its Windows operating system, called Windows 8. The new version of Windows has been delayed from its original release date.

In addition, Intel had hoped to take on the growing market for tablet computers, which today often do not use Intel chips, with lightweight laptop computers called ultrabooks. Few of these have hit the market yet, however, and sales have been modest relative to tablets like Apple’s iPad.

So let me get this straight: Windows 8’s delay, the slow start of the “ultrabook” market and the runaway success of the iPad are bringing down the world’s largest chip-maker’s bottom line, and yet it’s Intel that’s the industry bellwether? Got it.