AMD Posts Record Q3 Revenue, Shares Soar After Hours

Expect strong revenue in the fourth quarter as well
Demand for AI GPUs and CPUs rises in tandem

Reuters-Yonhap

U.S. semiconductor company AMD posted record quarterly revenue in the third quarter of this year. A surge in demand for AI data centers translated into strong results. Its shares soared after the company said it expected revenue in the next quarter to exceed market forecasts.

On November 3 local time, CNBC reported that AMD had disclosed third-quarter revenue of $13.38 billion (about 18 trillion won), up 45% from the same period a year earlier. The revenue forecast from market research firm London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) was $13.09 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also jumped 74% year over year to $2.09, beating the previous forecast of $1.95.

The AI data center business led the revenue growth. AMD's data center revenue surged 97% year over year to $8.55 billion in the third quarter, accounting for two-thirds of total revenue. AMD said strong sales of new graphics processing units (GPUs), including its latest AI accelerator, the Instinct MI455X, and its sixth-generation EPYC central processing units (CPUs) drove the growth.

As various AI models compete to offer services, demand has grown not only for GPUs but also for CPUs, which supply data and manage tasks. This has significantly increased demand for AMD's semiconductors. Revenue from the embedded segment, whose products are used in industries such as aerospace, defense and automotive, also rose 29.4% from the same period a year earlier to $1.11 billion.

Revenue from the data center segment far outstripped sales from the PC semiconductor business, previously AMD's mainstay. In the third quarter of this year, AMD's PC semiconductor revenue rose 7% year over year to just $2.949 billion. Gaming semiconductor revenue fell 40% to $773 million. The center of AMD's growth has shifted rapidly from PCs and gaming to AI data centers.

AMD emphasized that strong results, led by its AI business, would continue in the fourth quarter of this year. It forecast revenue of $17 billion, a 66% jump from the same period a year earlier. That figure is well above its previous forecast of $16.2 billion.

AMD Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lisa Su offered an upbeat outlook on an earnings call that day, saying, "Demand for our Instinct and EPYC products continues to strengthen. Growth will accelerate further in the fourth quarter." She added, "Based on the visibility we have today, we expect revenue to grow by more than 80% in 2027."

AMD's share price also responded to the earnings surprise. After closing regular trading that day at $483.90, up 3.65% from the previous session, AMD shares surged more than 8% in after-hours trading, breaking above the $530 mark.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.