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Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), which use Intel chips in their products, both recently lowered their earnings outlook for the next few months. Even Apple (AAPL), whose business has been on a tear for the last couple of years, fell short of Wall Street expectations when it reported earnings in July.

"The overall economy really isn't all that great around the world right now," said technology analyst Jack Gold. But if it doesn't suddenly get worse, tech companies generally should "float along where they are and they'll do OK."

While its sales for data-center products are "meeting expectations," Intel said, it attributed the revised forecast to sluggish PC purchases by businesses and slower sales in emerging markets, which typically refer to such regions as Asia, India and South America. Intel has been counting on those foreign markets to help boost its bottom line, arguing that many people living there haven't yet bought a PC.

Intel also slightly scaled back its expected third-quarter gross margin, money left over from revenue after accounting for the cost of goods sold. In addition, it said its capital spending for the year "is expected to be below the low end of the company's previous outlook of $12.1 billion to $12.9 billion, as the company accelerates the reuse of existing equipment."

Worldwide sales of PCs are expected to grow less than 1 percent this year, marking the second consecutive year of growth below 2 percent, according to the research firm International Data Corp. Although it predicts PC sales will increase about 7 percent per year on average from 2013 through 2016, it partly attributes the current leveling off in purchases to weakened economies in the Pacific Rim.

In addition, IDC said, potential PC customers are waiting to see what products will come out with Windows 8 or be featured as "ultrabooks," a notebook-tablet hybrid that Intel has been heavily promoting because they contain only its processors.

Intel's problems have been aggravated by its failure until recently to get its chips into tablets and smartphones, which are selling much faster than PCs. Consequently, while the company has beaten Wall Street's expectations during several previous quarters, some analysts have remained concerned about Intel's future and have predicted its sales would begin to slow.

"Given the continued weaker PC environment, we see no near-term respite in fundamentals for Intel," analysts at BMO Capital Markets said in a note to their clients. They predicted "a mere bounce" in better revenue for Intel in the fourth quarter.

Analysts at Sterne Agee said Intel "might need to adjust expenses" and that its revenue revision may presage problems to come at other Silicon Valley chipmakers, including Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia.

Craig Berger, who tracks the industry for FBR Capital Markets, also expressed concerns about Intel's business in a note to his clients. But he said the company's prodigious manufacturing capabilities give it a big advantage over its competitors and that "Intel continues to have a very profitable PC processor franchise."