Semiconductors decline as Intel CFO says 'visibility isn't pristine' when discussing Q1
Ismed Syahrul

Semiconductor stocks, including Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), fell on Monday as the tech giant's chief financial officer said the semiconductor giant did not have "pristine" visibility going into the first-quarter, adding that he expected results to be close to what they had been historically.
Speaking at a UBS conference, Intel (INTC) CFO David Zinsner said the company is still dealing with the inventory digestion from its customers, a trend that would likely continue into 2023.
Our estimation is that inventory digestion that's been going on with our customers, probably doesn't finish at the end of this year, it continues into next year," Zinsner said, according to the transcript. "That, coupled with macro headwinds in basically every geography out there, didn't give us a ton of confidence that there would be some reason for us to be better than seasonal."
Intel (INTC) shares fell more than 1% to $29.04 following the comments. 
Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM) all fell at least 1% or more in mid-day trading.
Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) declined fractionally to $167.83 even as Citi reiterated that the analog chip supplier was the firm's top pick in the chip sector amid ongoing weakness.
Analyst Christopher Danely noted that the Semiconductor Industry Association reported $44B in monthly sales during October, down 10.9% month-over-month, below seasonal trends and Citi's own estimate of $46B. As a result of the lower-than-expected revenue, Danely lowered estimates for 2022 revenue again and now expects 2023 sales to drop 7% year-over-year to $538.5B, in large part to first-half weakness. 
"We remain cautious on semis due to inventory build and recession and reiterate [Analog Devices] as our top pick given our defensive nature," Danely wrote in a note to clients.
Mobileye (NASDAQ:MBLY) shares erased earlier gains and fell more than 1% to $31.60 even as investment firm Tigress started coverage on the semiconductor company with a buy rating, noting its "leading position" in both advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicle technology. 
Analyst Ivan Feinseth noted that the global auto industry is set to under a "massive acceleration in change" due to both electric vehicles as well as advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, and autonomous vehicles, which should boost autonomous-mobility-as-a-service and the robotaxi industry.
"Mobileye's recent IPO, unlocking it from being embedded in a large semiconductor company, makes it the only pure play to invest in these emerging technologies," Feinseth wrote in a note to clients, adding that its peers, Nvidia (NVDA) and Qualcomm (QCOM), are "formidable" but don't purely focus on automotive.
Late last month, investment firm Mizuho Securities said Intel (INTC) was seeing "increased challenges in both the server and PC markets," issues which are expected to last into next year.