Texas Instruments Inc., the largest maker of analog chips, forecast quarterly sales and profit that may beat the low end of analysts’ estimates, defying predictions that a weaker economy would crimp orders.

Profit will be 38 cents to 42 cents a share on revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.41 billion, the Dallas-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts on average had predicted earnings of 38 cents on sales of $3.34 billion in the current period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In July Texas Instruments had forecast a profit of 34 cents to 42 cents a share on revenue of $3.21 billion to $3.47 billion.

Texas Instruments is the largest maker of a type of chip that runs the electronics in devices ranging from home appliances to military hardware, making its earnings and forecasts an indicator of activity across the industry. The company’s previous targets may have already taken sufficient account of weakening demand, according to Chris Caso, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group.

“It’s very weak out there,” said Caso. “But I don’t sense it’s getting a lot worse.”

Texas Instruments gets 15 percent to 20 percent of its sales from chips that go into personal computers, according to Susquehanna’s Caso. On Sept. 7, Intel Corp., the world’s largest maker of computer processors, cut its third-quarter sales forecast, citing declining demand for PCs from corporate customers in a weakening economy.