Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ:TXN) stock rose 6.55% (As on April 24, 11:19:46 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted strong second-quarter revenue forecast fanned optimism that chip demand was picking up after a years-long slump. The company is seen as a bellwether for semiconductor demand, as its products are used across industries ranging from automotive to industrial and consumer electronics including smartphones and personal computers. The cash flow from operations of $6.3 billion for the trailing 12 months again underscored the strength of our business model, the quality of our product portfolio and the benefit of 300mm production. Free cash flow for the same period was $940 million. Capital expenditures were $1.2 billion in the quarter and $5.3 billion over the last 12 months. The balance sheet remains strong with $10.4 billion of cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter. In first quarter the company had issued $3 billion in debt. Total debt outstanding is now $14.3 billion with a weighted average coupon of 3.8%. Inventory at the end of the quarter was $4.1 billion, up $84 million from the prior quarter, and days were 235, up 16 days sequentially.

TXN in the first quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.20, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.06, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue decline of 16 percent to $3.66 billion in the first quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $3.61 billion. Operating expenses in the quarter were $933 million, flat from a year ago. Operating profit was $1.3 billion in the quarter, or 35% of revenue, and was down 34% from the year-ago quarter. Net income in the first quarter was $1.1 billion. Gross profit in the quarter was $2.1 billion, or 57% of revenue. From a year ago, gross profit decreased primarily due to lower revenue and, to a lesser extent, higher manufacturing costs associated with reduced factory loadings and the planned capacity expansions. Gross profit margin decreased 820 basis points.

Sales in the current period will be as much as $3.95 billion. Analysts had estimated $3.78 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit is expected to be in the range of $1.05 to $1.25 a share, versus a prediction of $1.17.