Intel Can't Shake Investor Angst

SAN FRANCISCO -- A strong sales forecast is usually enough to settle most Wall Street debates.

But with investor anxiety about demand for PCs running high, and the very contours of the PC market looking fluid, talk of upside from Intel(INTC Quote) did little to sway sentiment on the Street.

Analysts and investors dug in their heels and stuck with their existing views following Tuesday's earnings, with bulls and bears each finding evidence within Intel's report to back-up their positions

Shares of Intel continued to fluctuate within a percentage point or so since the earnings report. The stock was up 25 cents at $20.95 in trading Wednesday.

The market's indecisiveness underscored the extent to which the PC market is at a transition, as hordes of new customers upend the industry's economics, and advances in mobility and Internet access blur the boundaries between PCs and other electronic devices.

Indeed, more than any other topic, Intel's new Atom processor dominated Tuesday's post-earnings conference call. The chip is designed for bare-bones "netbook" PCs, a new class of product epitomized by the Asus Eee PC, which costs less than $500 for some models and is the size of a hardcover book.

Intel executives said their projections for Atom shipments are running well ahead of initial forecasts made last November. But it was clear that Wall Street is still grappling with what the Atom means for Intel's business in the long run.