AMD beats earnings expectations as data-center sales nearly double
The chipmaker’s next-quarter sales forecast also topped Wall Street estimates, but its margin outlook fell slightly short and consumer-chip revenue declined.
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The chipmaker’s next-quarter sales forecast also topped Wall Street estimates, but its margin outlook fell slightly short and consumer-chip revenue declined.
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AMD’s latest quarter underscores a shift in its revenue base: data centers are becoming the company’s dominant business as PC and gaming demand weakens. Both sales and adjusted earnings beat analyst forecasts, and management’s next-quarter sales outlook points to continued growth. For investors tracking data-center infrastructure, the key test is whether processor demand can keep accelerating without consumer weakness or softer margins weighing on the broader results; CEO Lisa Su’s acceleration forecast is an expectation, not a reported outcome.
AMD reported $13.38 billion in revenue, up 45% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share versus LSEG estimates of $13.09 billion and $1.95.
Data-center revenue nearly doubled and grew from 47% to 64% of total sales year over year.
Combined PC and gaming revenue fell 8% to $3.7 billion; gaming alone declined 40%.
AMD’s data-center business is carrying more of the company as its consumer-chip sales retreat. The chipmaker’s November 3 third-quarter earnings release beat Wall Street expectations and sent shares up 7% in extended trading. Data-center revenue nearly doubled, while management forecast fourth-quarter sales above analysts’ estimates—a contrast with falling PC and gaming revenue.
AMD reported $13.38 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 45% from $9.25 billion a year earlier. That cleared the $13.09 billion consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. Adjusted earnings also exceeded expectations, giving the company a beat on both sales and profit per share.
Adjusted earnings reached $2.09 a share, compared with the $1.95 LSEG consensus. The adjusted label matters: this is the earnings measure cited in the comparison with Wall Street’s forecast, rather than an unqualified measure of AMD’s profit.
The company-wide growth rate masks a sharp split. Data-center revenue nearly doubled from a year earlier. By contrast, AMD’s combined PC and gaming segment generated $3.7 billion, down 8%. Gaming revenue alone fell 40%, a steeper decline than the combined segment’s drop.
That divergence also changed the balance of AMD’s business. Data centers now contribute a clear majority of total revenue, whereas a year earlier they accounted for less than half. The segment’s expansion is therefore not just adding sales; it is making data centers a larger part of AMD’s overall results.
AMD’s fourth-quarter revenue forecast extends the growth story beyond the completed quarter. The company expects about $17 billion in sales, above the $16.2 billion average analyst estimate cited by LSEG. Those figures describe management’s outlook and Wall Street’s expectations, not revenue AMD has already recorded.
The margin comparison was less favorable. AMD forecast a fourth-quarter gross margin of 55%, slightly below the 55.3% average estimate from StreetAccount. Its outlook therefore exceeded the sales benchmark without clearing the margin benchmark: the two measures offer different readings of the coming quarter.
CEO Lisa Su said she expects data-center processor growth to accelerate further and expressed confidence that AMD could meet demand. That is management’s forward-looking assessment. The completed quarter shows rapid data-center growth alongside consumer-chip weakness; Su’s comments set an expectation that the stronger business will gain still more momentum.
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