On AMD's big day, Intel ups its outlook

On the day AMD will launch its Barcelona chip Intel just happened to raise its outlook for the third quarter.

Coincidence? I think not. Intel was clearly stealing some thunder from the launch of the Barcelona chip, which is supposed to be AMD's savior. George Ou has more.

In any case, Intel's news is good. Intel said it expects revenue for the third quarter to be between $9.4 billion and $9.8 billion. That projection is up from a prior range of $9 billion to $9.6 billion. Gross margins are expected to be in the "upper half of the previous range of 52 percent plus or minus a couple of points."

According to Thomson Financial, Intel is expected to report third quarter earnings of 28 cents a share on $9.4 billion.

But here's what's curious. Intel said other expectations are unchanged. In most cases, higher revenue and margins should point to better earnings too--unless AMD cranks up the pricing pressure. Perhaps Intel sees more AMD pressure on the horizon. AMD's latest quarter showed the chip maker is capable of punching back.

Intel reports earnings Oct. 16.