In a somewhat cheerless time for chip stocks, Intel (INTC) has decided to toss some spare coin toward its shareholders with a little boost to its dividend. The semiconductor giant says it will raise its quarterly dividend 4 cents to 14 cents starting June 1.
Intel shares have fallen 19% so far this year amid a price-cutting war with rival AMD (AMD) and an overall selling trend in the stock market. Earlier this month, Intel cut its gross margin forecast for the year largely do to falling prices in the flash memory market.
The chip shop also threatened to back the introduction of the Classmate PC a cheap computer aimed at young students in the U.S. and Europe. The move, if successful, will likely open up a new market for chip sales, and put more pressure on Intel’s PC manufacturing customers including Dell (DELL).