Altera Drops 6% On Cut In Q4 Revenue View

Programmable chip vendor Altera (ALTR) this afternoon cut is Q4 revenue outlook, projecting a deeper-than-expected quarterly decline in revenue, and missing analysts’ consensus estimate, on global macroeconomic worries.

The company now sees revenue declining 13% to 16% from Q3′s level, versus a prior forecast for a drop of just 7% to 11%.

That would imply revenue of as little as $438.9 million, on up to revenue of as much as $455 million. Analysts have been modeling $475 million in revenue.

The company cited a basket of woes, mostly stemming from global economic uncertainty.

The revenue outlook has deteriorated across all major vertical markets, including both large and small customers. With the exception of�North America, which will benefit from rising military sales, all geographic regions will be weak. As the quarter has progressed, economic uncertainty, macroeconomic concerns, and, in some instances, lower than planned sales have resulted in customers reducing demand on Altera. Consistent with the third quarter, Altera believes it will continue to under ship customer end demand in the fourth quarter.

Altera plans to report full results for the quarter on January 24th.

Altera shares are down $1.98, or 6%, at $33.50 in late trading.