TI forecasts dull third quarter on sluggish chip demand, China weakness

(Reuters) -Analog chipmaker Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:) forecast third-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street targets on Tuesday, bogged down by sluggish recovery in consumer and enterprise demand that has kept clients from placing fresh chip orders.

Wobbly China recovery after the country put an end to its “zero-COVID” policy has also prevented demand from rebounding quickly.

Shares of the Dallas, Texas-based company fell about 2% in trading after the bell.

Texas Instruments said in April it expected overstocked customers to continue expunging excess inventory even in the second quarter. Inflation and rising interest rates have eroded spending across sectors, including in the industrial segment, its key market, comprising about 40% of its revenue.

Revenue in the quarter ended June 30 fell 13% to $4.53 billion, compared to estimates of $4.36 billion.

“Similar to last quarter, we experienced weakness across our end markets, with the exception of automotive,” CEO Haviv Ilan said in a press release.

Top chipmakers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Infineon (OTC:) Technologies also flagged global economic woes denting broader end-market chip demand, with the former saying even a high demand for artificial intelligence has not been able to offset the widespread weakness.

Texas Instruments forecast revenue in the current quarter to be in the range of $4.36 billion to $4.74 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expect revenue to come in at $4.60 billion.

It forecast earnings per share to be between $1.68 and $1.92 in the third quarter, the mid-point of which fell below expectations of $1.91.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.87 per share, compared to estimates of $1.76 per share.