Intel announced its second-quarter earnings today, with sales and profits amounting to "the best quarter in the company's 42-year history," according to CEO Paul Otellini. Chipzilla squashed analysts' expectations, posting net income of $2.9 billion on revenue of $10.8 billion - a substantial increase from the same quarter in 2009, when the company recorded a loss of $398 million and revenue was 34% lower. Those results were deeply affected by a $1.45 billion fine courtesy of the EU.
Intel attributed its successful quarter to "strong demand from corporate customers" and called its PC and server businesses "healthy." Revenue for the company's PC Client Group, responsible for its desktop and mobile processors, increased 2% to $3.43 billion. Atom processors and chipsets alone raked in $413 million, a 16% jump sequentially. Meanwhile, Data Center Group revenue was up 13%, which could mark the end of a lengthy dry spell in enterprise spending.
Intel expects the cash to continue rolling in, predicting third quarter revenue of $11.6 billion (give or take $400 million).