Intel Warns Revenue Might Drop 2.7%

Intel Corp. said its first-quarter revenue could fall 2.7% from a year earlier amid sluggish sales of flash memory chips used in portable devices such as cell phones.

The Santa Clara, Calif., firm said first-quarter sales would be flat at best, ruling out the rebound in demand it earlier had indicated could be possible. Intel narrowed its expected first-quarter sales range to $6.6 billion to $6.8 billion. The previous forecast was $6.5 billion to $7 billion.

Intel shares fell to $15.96 in after-hours trading from a close of $16.70 on Nasdaq.