Intel (INTC / NASDAQ) reported on Tuesday revenue earnings for the first quarter that, while slightly lower than Wall Street expectations, still represent a substantial improvement over Q1 of last year (a net income of $1.73 billion versus less than a billion a in Q1 2003). 

Then on Wednesday, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD / NYSE) simply blew away first quarter earnings and sales forecasts, reporting a 73% year-over-year increase in sales. 

For good measure, Texas Instruments (TXN / NYSE) posted a three-fold increase in first quarter net profit ($367 million versus $117 in 2003) and higher sales ($2.94 billion versus $2.19 billion).  Sales of products such as TVs made up for expected revenue shortfalls for wireless products.  This eased investor apprehensions about a decline in performance for the top cell phone chip manufacturer in the world. 

Could this mean the start of a great year?  Perhaps - Wall Street estimates for the sector have been revised from a 23% to a 30% YoY increase.  But the appetite for semiconductors will remain strongly correlated to demand for computers, cellular phones and electronic devices, and any repeat of Nokia's announcement last week can easily overhang the market.  I do remain cautiously optimistic for the year, though.