Intel Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend, Authorizes Additional $10 Billion for Share Repurchases

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has declared an 18.12 cents per share quarterly dividend (72.48 cents per share on an annual basis), reflecting the previously announced 15 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2010. The dividend will be payable on March 1, 2011 to stockholders of record on Feb. 7, 2011. The Intel board is also increasing the authorization limit for share repurchases by an additional $10 billion, which increases the overall outstanding buyback authorization to $14.2 billion.

"In 2010, Intel achieved its best and most profitable year ever," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "Today's announcement signals confidence in our fundamental business strategies both today and looking forward, allowing us to return more cash to shareholders."

Intel began paying a cash dividend in 1992 and has paid out approximately $21 billion to its shareholders in dividends. Intel cash dividends paid during 2010 totaled approximately $3.5 billion.

Since the company's stock buyback program began in 1990, Intel has repurchased approximately 3.4 billion shares at a cost of approximately $70 billion. Taken together since their inception, Intel's dividends and stock buyback program have returned approximately $91 billion to shareholders.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Risk Factors

The above statements and any others in this document that refer to plans and expectations for the first quarter, the year and the future are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Many factors could affect Intel's actual results, and variances from Intel's current expectations regarding such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Intel presently considers the following to be the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the corporation's expectations.

    --  Dividend declarations, the dividend rate and the stock buyback are at
        the discretion of Intel's board of directors, and plans for future
        dividends and stock buybacks may be revised by the board. Intel's
        dividend and stock buyback programs could be affected by changes in
        Intel's operating results, its capital spending programs, changes in its
        cash flows and changes in the tax laws, as well as by the level and
        timing of acquisition and investment activity.

    --  Demand could be different from Intel's expectations due to factors
        including changes in business and economic conditions; customer
        acceptance of Intel's and competitors' products; changes in customer
        order patterns including order cancellations; and changes in the level
        of inventory at customers.
    --  Intel operates in intensely competitive industries that are
        characterized by a high percentage of costs that are fixed or difficult
        to reduce in the short term and product demand that is highly variable
        and difficult to forecast. Revenue and the gross margin percentage are
        affected by the timing of Intel product introductions and the demand for
        and market acceptance of Intel's products; actions taken by Intel's
        competitors, including product offerings and introductions, marketing
        programs and pricing pressures and Intel's response to such actions; and
        Intel's ability to respond quickly to technological developments and to
        incorporate new features into its products.
    --  The gross margin percentage could vary significantly from expectations
        based on capacity utilization; variations in inventory valuation,
        including variations related to the timing of qualifying products for
        sale; changes in revenue levels; product mix and pricing; the timing and
        execution of the manufacturing ramp and associated costs; start-up
        costs; excess or obsolete inventory; changes in unit costs; defects or
        disruptions in the supply of materials or resources; product
        manufacturing quality/yields; and impairments of long-lived assets,
        including manufacturing, assembly/test and intangible assets.
    --  Expenses, particularly certain marketing and compensation expenses, as
        well as restructuring and asset impairment charges, vary depending on
        the level of demand for Intel's products and the level of revenue and
        profits.
    --  The tax rate expectation is based on current tax law and current
        expected income. The tax rate may be affected by the jurisdictions in
        which profits are determined to be earned and taxed; changes in the
        estimates of credits, benefits and deductions; the resolution of issues
        arising from tax audits with various tax authorities, including payment
        of interest and penalties; and the ability to realize deferred tax
        assets.
    --  Gains or losses from equity securities and interest and other could vary
        from expectations depending on gains or losses on the sale, exchange,
        change in the fair value or impairments of debt and equity investments;
        interest rates; cash balances; and changes in fair value of derivative
        instruments.
    --  The majority of Intel's non-marketable equity investment portfolio
        balance is concentrated in companies in the flash memory market segment,
        and declines in this market segment or changes in management's plans
        with respect to Intel's investments in this market segment could result
        in significant impairment charges, impacting restructuring charges as
        well as gains/losses on equity investments and interest and other.
    --  Intel's results could be impacted by adverse economic, social, political
        and physical/infrastructure conditions in countries where Intel, its
        customers or its suppliers operate, including military conflict and
        other security risks, natural disasters, infrastructure disruptions,
        health concerns and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
    --  Intel's results could be affected by the timing of closing of
        acquisitions and divestitures.
    --  Intel's results could be affected by adverse effects associated with
        product defects and errata (deviations from published specifications),
        and by litigation or regulatory matters involving intellectual property,
        stockholder, consumer, antitrust and other issues, such as the
        litigation and regulatory matters described in Intel's SEC reports. An
        unfavorable ruling could include monetary damages or an injunction
        prohibiting us from manufacturing or selling one or more products,
        precluding particular business practices, impacting Intel's ability to
        design its products, or requiring other remedies such as compulsory
        licensing of intellectual property.

A detailed discussion of these and other factors that could affect Intel's results is included in Intel's SEC filings, including the report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 25, 2010.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


    Source: Intel Corporation