Benzinga | Apr 22, 2021 12:55PM EDT

Intel's $20B Capex Plans Could Affect Q1 Results: WSJ

* Intel Corp's (NASDAQ: INTC) quarterly sales and profit estimates are estimated to take a hit following CEO Pat Gelsinger's aggressive $20 billion spending commitment for two new Arizona semiconductor plants, the Wall Street Journal reports.

* Gelsinger recently agreed to make some of its production capacity available to resolve the automaking chip crisis.

* Intel is scheduled to post its first quarterly earnings on Thursday. The Street estimates a 10% decline in first-quarter sales to $17.8 billion and net income of $4.3 billion.

* Intel is expected to generate a revenue of around $17.5 billion, as it planned to divest its memory business to South Korea's SK Hynix Inc (OTC: HXSCL)

* Demand surge for lower-end devices like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Chromebooks, and Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) preference for in-house chip designs for certain equipment instead of Intel, was attributed to the decline by a Bank Of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) analyst. The analyst estimated the 2021 outlay to move at a slower pace after a strong year of data center spending. The analyst forecast Intel's sales growth to lag the broader sector growth of 15%.

* Last month, Gelsinger disclosed the company's progress on its newest chips. Intel also intended to increase outsourcing of some chip production.

* NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) recently disclosed its plans of selling central-processing units for data-centers, a market that Intel previously dominated. Intel this month introduced an enhanced data-center chip.

* Last week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NYSE: TSM) increased its 2021 capital-expenditure plan to $30 billion while lifting its sales forecast. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (OTC: SSNLF) reserved $116 billion by 2030 to diversify chip production.

* Gelsinger talked about Intel's additional chip investment plans. Intel is bidding on a Pentagon contract for domestic chip-making funding to accomplish government security requirements.

* Last month Intel expected the 2021 revenue to decline 7.6% to $72 billion due to the memory business divestment. Intel has estimated a capital expenditure spending between $19 billion to $20 billion for 2021.

* Price action: INTC shares traded lower by 0.47% at $63.40 on the last check Thursday.