Intel (INTC) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal second quarter after the market close on July 27, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch for:

GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, Intel guided for Q2 adjusted earnings per share of (4c) on revenue of $11.5B-$12.5B. At the time, analysts were expecting the company to report Q2 EPS of 1c on revenue of $11.75B, but those figures have since fallen to (3c) and $10.97B, respectively.

CITI SEES 'BAD NEWS' FOR INTEL: In a research note to investors, Citi said it "bad news" for Intel and AMD (AMD) in the earnings reports from three of the largest cloud service providers - Alphabet (GOOG), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT). Meta lowered 2023 capex 10% and Alphabet's Q2 capex was lower than anticipated, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Microsoft's fiscal Q4 capex of $8.9B beat the consensus of $8.1B, but the company didn't provide a full year capex guide for fiscal 2024, adds the firm. It believes the Street was expecting a raise in capex given the strength at Nvidia (NVDA) was expected to broaden out to other artificial intelligence chip suppliers. Citi is below consensus on AMD as it expects the company to lower Q3 guidance given weakness in the data center market. It has a "negative catalyst watch" on AMD and remains Neutral rated on both AMD and Intel.

JEFFERIES MORE POSITIVE: Meanwhile, Jefferies analyst Mark Lipacis said that Microsoft's and Alphabet's comments regarding capex and AI spending on their earnings calls lead the firm to believe that its "above-consensus" Nvidia estimates "may prove conservative." The firm, which notes that "AI" was mentioned 170 times on the calls, which is twice the rate in the companies' Q4 reports, views Microsoft's and Alphabet's commentary as positive for Nvidia as well as AMD, Intel, Marvell (MRVL) and Broadcom (AVGO).

CORE PROCESSOR PRICE HIKE: Earlier this week, PCGamesHardware's Sven Bauduin reported that Intel will increase the prices of its current core processors in the near future. The refinancing of new factories and the restructuring of the company are being attributed for the price hikes, according to the website. In the letter to wholesalers, which is now also available to some retailers, Intel states that without exception all core processors that are currently still on sale or in production should become more expensive, the report added.

NEW FOUNDRY MODEL: Late last month, Intel said that its transition to a new internal foundry model will be a key enabler to achieving its stated cost savings goal of more than $8B-$10B exiting 2025. In this new operating model, Intel's internal product groups move to a foundry-style relationship with the company's manufacturing group. As a result, company execs say they are projecting a broad class of increased efficiencies that will be reflected in greater profitability as Intel pursues its long-term ambition to achieve non-GAAP gross margins of 60%. The company said it is now making a fundamental shift in how its product business units work with technology development and manufacturing to ensure long-term growth while achieving efficiencies and cost savings. In this new "internal foundry" model, Intel's product business units will engage with the company's manufacturing group in a similar arm's-length fashion that fabless semiconductor companies engage with external foundries.

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