AMD results far better than expected

[PBS Poll-435]

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc's (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) graphics chips showed real strength for the first time, and the company surprised investors with quarterly results well beyond expectations.

Shares of AMD, which is about to become two companies, were up 10 percent in after-hours trading.

AMD bought graphics chip maker ATI Technologies Inc in 2006 for $5.4 billion but had problems digesting the Canadian acquisition, allowing rival graphics maker Nvidia (NVDA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to pull ahead.

But AMD came back with its ATI Radeon HD 4000 series last quarter, and the revenues contributed mightily to its better results.

"The numbers are really good, better than anybody would have expected," said Doug Freedman, an analyst at American Technology Research. Continued...

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN1642065220081017

[PBS Poll-435]

1. .

:shrug:

[HughMoran]

2. Good Deal

My company will be reporting good earnings too as far as I can tell from what the salespeople are telling me.

[On the Road]

3. I Don't Mean to Seem Naive,

but when and where are all these sales taking place with the very visible decline in retail? Was this from early in the quarter, Asian markets, both?

[PBS Poll-435]

4. Nvidia has seen a huge decline in market share, and..

Faster x86 processors in the 2/4P segment. Huge data farms prefer AMD for their much more efficient platform.

[On the Road]

6. Ah, I See,

so it's coming at the expense of NVidia.

[PBS Poll-435]

7. Only a portion

AMD/ATI released some really interesting products in 3Q.

Between a 105W 2.5 Ghz 2/4P Opteron to the fastest graphics card in the world, the 4870 X2, AMD finally has seen a quarter end without a major gaffe or disappointment.

[On the Road]

8. If That's True, It Looks Like a Screaming Buy

Currently selling at 4.40, down from a 12-month of 14-something. Have added it to the watch list.

[PBS Poll-435]

9. In November/December, AMD is moving their quad-core line of processors to 45nm.

Clock speeds will be increased to 2.8-3.0 GHz.

Power consumption stays the same or better.

IPC increased up to 30% better that the same frequency at 65nm.

AMD is going to rule the high-performance server segment into 2010.

[ReadTomPaine]

5. Good for them, Intel and Nvidia need the competition. n/t