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[News] Chip Sales Ban on Huawei Leads to Intel’s Downgraded Q2 Revenue


2024-05-10 Semiconductors editor

According to a report from Bloomberg, Intel, the chip giant, expects its revenue for the current quarter to be impacted after the US government revoked chip sales licenses to Huawei. Intel estimates that its revenue for the second quarter of this year will be below USD 13 billion, though still within the previously projected range of USD 12.5 billion to 13.5 billion. The company’s full-year financial forecast remains unchanged, with both revenue and profits expected to grow.

The U.S. government has reportedly revoked the licenses of Intel and Qualcomm to supply semiconductor chips used in laptops and handsets to Huawei. According to Reuters citing sources, some companies received notices on May 7th, and the revocation of the licenses took immediate effect.

Huawei unveiled its first AI notebook last month, which is powered by Intel chips. This has sparked dissatisfaction among some US lawmakers, who have called for the revocation of related export licenses.

In 2019, the US government added Huawei to the “Entity List,” prohibiting suppliers from providing goods to Huawei without an export license. However, US suppliers such as Intel and Qualcomm were granted permission to continue supplying certain chips to Huawei, including central processors for laptops and 4G smartphone chips.

Amid the escalating US-China tech war, these export licenses have allowed some companies to maintain stable revenue from the Chinese market.

Huawei has become the epicenter of the US-China trade conflict, with the US restricting Huawei’s access to Qualcomm’s latest 5G chips and implementing comprehensive controls on NVIDIA’s AI chips, limiting Huawei’s business growth. On the other hand, China has initiated countermeasures, demanding the telecom industry to cease using foreign chips by 2027.

The US Republican Representative Elise Stefanik believes that revoking the licenses will strengthen U.S. national security, protect U.S. intellectual property rights, and thus weaken the technological advancement capabilities of communist China.

Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO, stated in early May that as the Chinese telecom industry shifts towards 5G development and stops procuring Qualcomm’s approved 4G chips, the company anticipates earning no revenue from Huawei by 2025.

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(Photo credit: iStock)

Please note that this article cites information from Bloomberg and Reuters.

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