AMD beats on earnings and revenue, but third-quarter forecast comes in light

AMD reported results for the quarter ended in June that beat estimates for profit and revenue, but the chipmaker gave a forecast for the current quarter that trailed Wall Street expectations. AMD stock fell 6% in extended trading. Here’s how the company did:

• EPS: $1.05, adjusted, versus $1.03 expected, according to Refinitiv
• Revenue: $6.55 billion, versus $6.53 billion expected, according to Refinitiv

The chipmaker said it expected $6.7 billion in revenue during the current quarter, plus or minus $200 million. Analysts had expected $6.83 billion. AMD currently has a significant market opportunity as its primary rival for PC and server processors, Intel, stumbles with execution. AMD’s chips have surpassed Intel’s in terms of performance, and investors are looking to see if the company has the supply and execution to take market share from its rival. All four of AMD’s major segments grew during the quarter, in which overall revenue soared 70% year over year. AMD said data center sales surged 83% year over year to $1.5 billion. The segment includes chips for cloud computing and large enterprise customers. Strong sales for server processors drove the growth, the company said, adding it doesn’t anticipate a slowdown in demand for these chips. Client segment revenue, which is comprised of PC and laptop chip sales, rose 25% to $2.2 billion during the quarter despite signs that computer sales have been slowing at the end of a two-year pandemic-fueled boom. AMD said the growth was attributable to mobile processor sales, likely for laptops. However, AMD CEO Lisa Su admitted that she saw declines in the current quarter for the PC business. “We have taken a more conservative outlook on the PC business, so a quarter ago we would have thought that the PC business would be down let’s call it high single digits,” Su said. “Our current view of the PC business is that it will be down mid-teens.” Su said on a call with analysts that AMD believes it is taking market share in the server and PC markets. “We’re pleased that we’re gaining share,” she said. Sales of chips for consoles like the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X were also a highlight. Gaming segment sales rose 32% year over year to $1.7 billion on sales growth in “semi-custom” chips for consoles. However, graphics processors for gaming PCs declined during the quarter. AMD’s embedded segment, which includes chips for networking or cars, reported $1.3 billion in sales, was boosted by AMD’s acquisition of Xilinx, which was completed in the first quarter. AMD stock is down 31% year to date as investors have backed away from fast-growing semiconductor stocks in the face of inflation and recession fears. AMD said it repurchased $920 million of its stock during the second quarter.