Intel stock down over 9% on grimmest quarterly outlook since 2010

First-quarter sales will be $10.5 billion to $11.5 billion, the chipmaker said

Intel gave one of the gloomiest quarterly forecasts in its history after a personal-computer slump ravaged the chipmaker’s business, sending shares tumbling and setting back turnaround efforts.

The company predicted a surprise loss in the current period and a sales range that missed analysts’ estimates by billions of dollars. At the low end of Intel’s projections, revenue would be the smallest quarterly total since 2010.

Intel predicted that its gross margin — the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production — would be 39 per cent in Q1. That’s down 14.1 points from the same period a year ago