Intel's 4th quarter wasn't that great

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) posted fourth quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations but nonetheless weren't anything to write home about.

Net income was $1.5 billion, or 26 cents a share, compared with $2.45 billion, or 40 cents, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts expected $1.44 billion, or 25 cents, according to Reuters. Revenue tumbled 5 percent to $9.69 billion, ahead of the average forecast of $9.43 billion, the news service said.

Profits were clearly hurt by the ongoing price war with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD). Looking ahead, the world's leargest chipmaker said it expected revenue in the current quarter to be $8.7 billion to $9.3 billion and spending of $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion, the company said. Analysts were expected revenue of $8.9 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

This outlook disappointed investors and sent shares down in after-hours trading.

"This is probably going to be the last iffy quarter for Intel for a while,'' said Alan Kral, who helps manage $750 million at Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen in New York, in an interview with Bloomberg News. "We're going to see a seesawing back and forth for as long as AMD remains a financial viable company."

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know your thoughts on earnings expectations.