KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
Intel reported mixed second-quarter earnings, with a slight revenue beat offset by record-low margins, continued losses in its foundry business, and cautious guidance. Shares swung in a wide range after-hours before settling down over 4%.
Key Q2 Financials:
Revenue: $12.9B (+0.2% YoY, -9.8% QoQ), above guidance
Gross Margin (GAAP): 27.5%, down sharply from last year
Operating Loss (GAAP): $3.18B (includes $1.9B restructuring costs)
Net Loss (GAAP): $3.02B, sixth consecutive quarter of losses
Free Cash Flow: -$1.1B, fourth straight negative quarter
Business Segment Breakdown:
Client Computing (PC CPUs): $7.87B (-3% YoY, +3% QoQ)
Operating margin hit a low of 26.1%
Datacenter & AI (Server CPUs): $3.94B (+4% YoY, -5% QoQ)
Operating profit up 162% YoY; margin improved to 16.1%
Intel Foundry: $4.42B (+3% YoY, -5% QoQ)
Operating loss widened to $3.17B (-71.7% margin)
Mobileye: $0.51B (+15% YoY)
Altera (FPGA): $0.45B (+24% YoY)
Key Themes:
PC and Server CPUs remain Intel’s core, contributing over half of revenue.
AMD continues to eat into Intel’s market share, especially in high-end servers.
Intel is largely missing out on the AI accelerator boom, with server sales still CPU-driven.
18A process (Panther Lake) is Intel’s critical turnaround bet, targeted for volume production by year-end.
Foundry ambitions scaled back; 14A will only be built with confirmed customer orders.
Cost-Cutting and Strategy Shift:
Workforce to be cut from 96,400 to 75,000 by year-end (a 22% reduction).
Halting fab projects in Germany and Poland; slowing Ohio expansion.
Consolidating operations in Costa Rica into Vietnam and Malaysia.
Capacity investments to be demand-driven going forward, no more “build first” strategy.
Q3 Outlook:
Revenue guidance: $12.6B–$13.6B (-2% to +6% QoQ)
Sequential growth expected mainly from PCs; foundry revenue to decline.
Management remains cautious due to order pull-ins earlier in the year and ongoing tariff uncertainty.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways:
Intel’s Q2 results show progress in PCs and servers, but weak margins and foundry losses overshadow the revenue beat.
New CEO Lip-Bu Tan is reshaping the company with aggressive cost cuts and a shift to disciplined capacity planning.
The 18A process is Intel’s lifeline; its success will determine if the turnaround can stick.
In the near term, expect continued volatility as the company restructures and works to regain competitiveness against AMD and Nvidia.
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