Stocks

AMD Stock Takes a Hit Following Q3 Results

Published November 1, 2024

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) has seen its shares decline by 14% to $142.44 since the opening of trading on Wednesday. This drop follows the company's recent announcement of its third-quarter financial results.

Despite the negative market reaction, AMD reported revenue of $6.8 billion, which surpasses the expectations set by analysts, who projected revenue at $6.71 billion. Additionally, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) matched forecasts, coming in at 92 cents.

Performance Overview: AMD's growth was largely driven by its data center division, which experienced a remarkable 122% increase, bringing in $3.5 billion in revenue. The client segment also saw positive results with a 29% rise, totaling $1.9 billion.

However, the gaming segment faced serious challenges, experiencing a drastic 69% decline, amounting to $462 million in revenue. The embedded revenue also fell by 25% to $927 million, even though it posted an 8% increase sequentially on a quarterly basis.

CEO Lisa Su attributed the overall performance to the strong demand for AMD's EPYC and Instinct products within the data center market, along with the popularity of its Ryzen processors in the PC sector. She also expressed optimism about future growth opportunities in the data center, client, and embedded businesses, fueled by an increasing demand for computing power.

For the fourth quarter, AMD has forecasted revenue of $7.5 billion, which represents a 22% year-over-year increase at the midpoint. The adjusted gross margins for this period are expected to remain steady at 54%.

Analyst Insights: Analysts have positively assessed AMD's foray into the realms of artificial intelligence (AI) and data center solutions, suggesting that the company is positioning itself as a significant competitor to NVIDIA in the AI market.

KeyBanc analyst John Vinh emphasized the potential impact of AMD's MI300 chip, which is anticipated to generate $5 billion in revenue by 2024. Vinh believes that this chip could enhance customer adoption across cloud and AI applications, despite a conservative outlook for the fourth quarter.

Cantor Fitzgerald's analyst C.J. Muse commented on AMD's progress with AI, suggesting that the MI300 might ultimately bring in $12 billion in revenue, which could support earnings growth by 2025 or 2026, although he expects AMD's shares may experience a trading range over the short term.

Mixed assessments have emerged from other analysts. Oppenheimer’s Rick Schafer praised AMD's swift advancement in establishing a competitive position in the AI space, projecting an annual revenue that could exceed $5 billion. However, he cautioned that investor expectations might be running too high.

On the other hand, Piper Sandler's Harsh Kumar acknowledged AMD's strong performance with GPUs while recognizing that the forward guidance presents challenges. He noted that while AMD shows promise in its GPU and server sectors, risks remain in the gaming and embedded divisions.

As AMD continues to navigate these challenges and opportunities, the market will be closely watching how the company capitalizes on its growth potential while managing the pressures faced in different market segments.

AMD, stocks, revenue