AMD Posts Record Quarter as Data Center Revenue Nearly Doubles and Gaming Sales Plunge
US chipmaker AMD reported record third-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion, up 45 percent year over year. Data center revenue rose 97 percent, while the gaming segment fell 40 percent.
Chipmaker AMD reported record third-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion on Tuesday, November 4, up 45 percent from a year earlier. The growth came from its data center business, while the gaming segment dropped sharply. The results matter because AMD's own forecast suggests it could surpass rival Intel in quarterly revenue for the first time.
Data centers lead the growth
Data center revenue reached $8.5 billion, up 97 percent year over year. AMD credits demand for its EPYC enterprise server processors and the launch of the Instinct MI450 series of GPUs. Operating margin in the segment widened from 25 percent to 34 percent, and operating income climbed 168 percent to $2.88 billion.
Other segments
The Client segment, which includes desktop Ryzen processors, brought in $2.95 billion, up 7 percent. Sales of Ryzen mobile chips drove that growth. The Embedded segment, covering the SoCs, FPGAs and boards that go into other hardware, earned $1.1 billion, a 29 percent increase. AMD pointed to gains in aerospace and defense, automotive, communications and industrial markets.
Gaming revenue fell 40 percent to $773 million. The company attributed the decline to lower semi-custom and graphics revenue.
Outlook
Chief Financial Officer Jean Hu said AMD expects fourth-quarter revenue of about $17 billion, plus or minus 3 percent. The midpoint implies roughly 66 percent year-over-year growth, driven mainly by the Data Center segment. According to Tom's Hardware, Intel's fourth-quarter guidance is between $15 billion and $16 billion. If both companies reach their expectations, AMD's revenue would exceed Intel's for the first time.
