For the fourth quarter, analysts, on average, expect Intel to earn 31 cents a share before items on sales of $9.4 billion, according to Thomson First Call. The company's bottom line also will likely be affected by a benefit of as much as $6 billion, due to a special tax break for companies that bring their foreign-based earnings back to the U.S. During Intel's midquarter update on Dec. 2, the company bumped up its sales guidance to between $9.3 billion and $9.5 billion, but essentially left gross margins expectations untouched, anticipating that they would come in between 55% and 57%. The company cited strong demand for its architecture products, which include microprocessors, chipsets and motherboards. Analyst Apjit Walia of RBC Capital has the highest sales estimate on Wall Street at $9.6 billion. He said Intel should be able to hit his target as the company finished the quarter with solid demand.