Intel profit drops on lower chip prices, but results top earnings estimates

Intel Corp.'s (INTC) third-quarter numbers show the company is getting better at doing more with less in the toughest stretch for the personal computer industry in nearly a decade.

The world's No. 1 microprocessor maker said Tuesday that profit and sales both fell 8 percent in the July-September period, as the company was hurt by sluggish demand from businesses and lower prices for its chips. Intel has insisted things are improving, however, and offered better-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter, sending its shares up nearly 7 percent.