Intel CEO Bob Swan kicked off his first shareholder meeting as the chip giant's new boss with a display of humility after a downbeat earnings report that sparked doubts about the company's direction.
"We let you down," Swan told investors at the company's headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday. "And we let ourselves down."
Swan, who had served as Intel's chief financial officer, was named permanent CEO in January after serving on an interim basis following the resignation of Brian Krzanich. In April, Intel reported disappointing earnings, which included weak data-center-business revenues.
Despite Swan's comments, Intel shares slipped in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Joel Kulina, head of technology trading at Wedbush, pointed to Intel's projection of low-single-digit percentage growth over the next three years as a possible reason why.
"Still lingering concerns over Swan as CEO vs bringing in tech/turnaround type of guy," he said in a note to clients following the meeting.
The analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy said the Intel CEO's show of humility was not surprising, given Swan's past role as the chipmaker's chief financial officer.
"I think this is classic Bob Swan," he told Business Insider. "If anyone understands Intel investors, it's him."
The Martinwolf analyst Marty Wolf said Intel is clearly still struggling to bounce back after missing recent opportunities. For example, Intel stunned the business world by announcing that it was exiting the 5G modem business. Swan reaffirmed that decision at the investor meeting, saying, "we didn't see a path to make money."
The company's data-center business, which was supposed to lead Intel into a new growth period, turned out to be a disappointment, posting its first revenue decline in at least five years.
"They have long development lead times, and they missed not one but multiple cycle entry points," Wolf told Business Insider.
