Texas Instruments forecasts Q1 revenue above estimates on strong chip demand

(Reuters) -Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, betting on strong demand for its chips used in cars, smartphones and laptops, sending its shares up 6% in extended trading.

As demand for electronics including smartphones and consumer gadgets has risen faster than expected during the pandemic, semiconductor makers have doubled down on production, even as COVID-19 has hampered general operations and logistics.

Texas Instruments (TXN) analog and embedded processing chips are used in a range of products that cater to a broad market, lowering the risk from dependence on a single customer segment.

The company said it expects first-quarter revenue between $4.5 billion and $4.9 billion. Analysts on average estimate revenue of $4.37 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Texas Instruments (TXN) fourth-quarter revenue rose 19% to $4.83 billion, topping analysts' expectations of $4.43 billion, driven by strong demand in industrial and automotive markets.

Net income rose to $2.14 billion, or $2.27 per share, during the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.69 billion, or $1.80 per share, a year earlier.

Earlier this month, Taiwanese chip firm TSMC forecast multi-year growth on booming semiconductor demand and said it expects to lift capital spending to between $40 billion and $44 billion this year, compared with $30 billion it spent last year.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Tiyashi Datta and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)