Intel Reports Q4 Earnings Beat

Intel Corporation INTC surged ahead of Thursday's market close, as its fourth-quarter earnings report hit the wire earlier than expected.

What To Know: For the fourth quarter, Intel reported adjusted earnings of $1.52 per share, beating the Wall Street estimate of $1.10. Quarterly sales grew to $19.9 billion, beating the estimate of $17.5 billion.

Intel sees first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.10 compared to the 93-cent estimate, on sales of $17.5 billion compared to the $16.06 billion estimate.

Why It's Important: In January 2020, Intel shares reached their highest point since the dot-com bubble. However, chipmakers such as Nvidia NVDA and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD have become fierce competitors in the semiconductor space, with Nvidia surpassing Intel by market cap in mid-2020.

Intel closed the session up 6.4% at $62.46.