Intel, IBM shares turn red after hours

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � Shares of Intel Corp. fell Tuesday evening, as a quarterly forecast from the world�s largest chip maker disappointed Wall Street, and shares of International Business Machines were also in decline as the traditional tech bellwether�s quarterly sales missed expectations.

Meanwhile, shares of Fortinet Inc. and Apollo Group Inc. each dropped after yearly outlooks fell short of expectations.

Intel shares INTC dropped 3.3% to $21.61 as the company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, plus or minus $500 million. Analysts were expecting sales of $13.7 billion, according to a consensus estimate from FactSet.

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Intel�s forecast arrives as the near-term outlook for the semiconductor industry has worsened, with Intel�s Chief Executive Paul Otellini saying it�s still seeing a �tough economic environment.�

For the third quarter, Intel�s adjusted earnings were 60 cents a share. Revenue was $13.46 billion, down from $14.23 billion in the year-earlier period. Analysts had pegged earnings at 50 cents a share on revenue of $13.2 billion. See: Intel hit by weak PCs, scales back output

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IBM shares IBM lost 3.5% to trade at $203.66 after the company said third-quarter revenue fell 5.4% to $24.7 billion, with weakening in its services, software and hardware segments. Wall Street had expected $25.4 billion in sales. Adjusted earnings at Big Blue were $3.62 a share, beating the consensus estimate by a penny a share. Read more about IBM's third-quarter results.

Investors pushed shares of Fortinet FTNT down 17% to $20.60 after the company said it expects full-year revenue of $524 million to $528 million, less than the FactSet average estimate of $528.6 million. It also expects adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share, which compares with Wall Street�s outlook for 52 cents a share.

Fortinet�s third-quarter adjusted earnings were 14 cents a share on a 17% revenue increase to $136.3 million. See: Fortinet profit falls amid charges.

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Shares of Apollo Group APOL fell 8.2% to $25.25 following the for-profit education firm�s forecast of fiscal 2013 revenue of $3.65 billion to $3.8 billion. The outlook is lower than the $4.07 billion projection from a Thomson Reuters survey. Apollo also said it expects to cut its total head count by about 800 during fiscal 2013, leading to restructuring and other costs of about $25 million during the year.

In the fourth quarter, Apollo made $75.45 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with $188.6 million, or $1.37 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding special items, the company would have earned 52 cents a share in the most recent quarter. Revenue fell to $996.5 million from $1.12 billion

Shares of Intuitive Surgical Inc. ISRG were down 4.9% at $507.13. The company said it�s faced �significant headwinds� as �procedures came in below our expectations, driven by conditions in Europe and changes in prostate cancer detection and treatment.�

Profit for the third quarter at Intuitive Surgical jumped to $183 million, or $4.46 a share, up from $122 million, or $3.05 a share, a year ago, on demand for both its instruments and its systems. Revenue rose 20% to $538 million. Analysts had been looking for earnings of $3.50 a share on revenue of $535.5 million.

In daytime trading, the major U.S. equity indexes climbed, aided by strong earnings from several closely watched companies and reports that Spain is mulling a request for a credit line from the European Union. See: U.S. stocks rise on earnings, Spain news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rose 128 points, or 1%, to 13,551.78. The S&P 500 Index SPX gained 1% to 1,454.92 and the Nasdaq Composite COMP advanced 1.2% to 3,101.17.