Putting The Pressure On Intel

Intel is reporting its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, but partners are looking for much more beyond the company's financials during the call.

Partners and investors are calling on Intel to directly address the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws, which are side-channel security gaps that impact both older and newer Intel chips. The revelation of these flaws – and Intel's subsequent rush to issue botched patches for them – has left many channel partners wondering what the next steps are for the chip company.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters have predicted Intel earnings of 86 cents on sales of $16.34 billion, up from earnings of 79 cents in the same quarter last year.

Here are five big questions about the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws that partners want Intel CEO Brian Krzanich to address on the earnings call.