Intel issues profit warning, shares dip

Intel warned that its first-quarter sales would be lower than expected on Thursday, citing weaker demand for business desktop PCs and lower inventory levels in the PC supply chain.

Stock dropped 3.4% in premarket trade as revenue expectations dropped from £13.7bn to £12.8bn.

"The company believes the changes to demand and inventory patterns are caused by lower than expected Windows XP refresh in small and medium business and increasingly challenging macroeconomic and currency conditions, particularly in Europe," Intel said in a statement.

Intel said it still expects the midpoint of the gross margin range to be 60%, plus or minus a couple percentage points.