Texas Instruments Beats, Eyes Better Economy

DALLAS (TheStreet) - Texas Instruments (TXN) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results after market close on Thursday, as the chip maker eyed an improved IT spending climate.

"Revenue in the fourth quarter was higher than expected across all our major product lines, reinforcing our belief that we're at the bottom of this downturn," explained Rich Templeton, the Texas Instruments CEO, in a statement.

The ccompany, which lowered its fourth-quarter outlook on Dec. 8, brought in revenue of $3.42 billion, down slightly from $3.53 billion in the same period last year, but above Wall Street's estimate of $3.25 billion.

Texas Instruments earned 25 cents a share during the quarter, although this included 16 cents in charges related to the acquisition of National Semiconductor and 7 cents associated with the closure of two manufacturing facilities. Excluding items, analysts were looking for earnings of 39 cents a share.

The company's first-quarter guidance was light. Texas Instruments forecast earnings of 16 to 24 cents a share in the March-ending quarter on revenue of between $3.02 billion and $3.28 billion. The per-share outlook includes 9 cents a share in acquisition-related charges and about a penny of restructuring charges. Analysts are currently looking for revenue of $3.23 billion and earnings of 41 cents a share.

The stock was last quoted at $34.45, up 3.8%, on after-hours volume of 1.52 billion, according to Nasdaq.com.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

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The chip specialist, which recently lowered its fourth-quarter outlook, brought in revenue of $3.42 billion, down slightly from $3.525 billion in the same period last year, but above Wall Street's estimate of $3.25 billion.