NSM guides down

Revenues for the quarter will be 450-455 mil versus their prior guidance of 475-495 mil (down 1-5%). Wireless handsets and other unnamed consumer devices are the culprit.

National's revised outlook is attributable mainly to products for wireless handsets and other portable electronic devices. The shortfall in the third quarter is due to lower-than-expected shipments to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as handset companies in China which National serves through distribution channels.

Texas Instruments will have the same problem in 3-6 months. I think TXN is a short.

Here's the press release:

National Semiconductor Revises Revenue Outlook for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2008
Monday February 4, 4:00 pm ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) today announced that it is lowering its sales outlook for the third quarter of fiscal 2008, ending February 24, 2008. National had originally guided on December 6, 2007 that third quarter fiscal 2008 sales were expected to be down 1 percent to 5 percent sequentially. The company now expects sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 to range from approximately $450 million to $455 million, down from the $499 million in sales that were achieved in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

National's revised outlook is attributable mainly to products for wireless handsets and other portable electronic devices. The shortfall in the third quarter is due to lower-than-expected shipments to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as handset companies in China which National serves through distribution channels.

As a result of the lower sales range, gross margin is now expected to be approximately 63.0 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2008, which is slightly lower than the original guidance range. The company's gross margin in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was 64.4 percent.

Also, third quarter fiscal 2008 results will include nearly $20 million of pre-tax charges in accordance with the company's action announced on January 21, 2008 to eliminate positions in manufacturing facilities and dispose of certain underutilized manufacturing equipment.

National's third quarter financial announcement and conference call are scheduled for March 6, 2008 at which time the company will discuss financial results in more detail and provide an outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

Special Note

This release contains forward-looking statements dependent on a number of risks and uncertainties pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including management's expectations regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. A more complete list of risk factors is included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 27, 2007 under the captions "Outlook", "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" contained therein and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended November 25, 2007.

About National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor, the industry's premier analog company, creates high-value analog devices and subsystems. National's leading-edge products include power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers, interface products and data conversion solutions. National's key analog markets include wireless handsets, displays, communications infrastructure, medical, automotive, industrial, and test and measurement applications. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National reported sales of $1.93 billion for fiscal 2007, which ended May 27, 2007. Additional company and product information is available at http://www.national.com.

Media Contact: Financial:
LuAnn Jenkins Long Ly
National Semiconductor National Semiconductor
(408) 721-2440 (408) 721-5007
luann.jenkins@nsc.com invest.group@nsc.com


Source: National Semiconductor Corporation