Fuzzi, in einer anderen News wird erwähnt, dass der erwartete Rückgang bei AMD im 2. Quartal mit der saisonal typischen Schwäche in jedem 2. Jahres-Quartal zusammenhängt, d. h. der Rückgang ginge demnach (noch) nicht auf Intel zurück. Andererseits fragt man sich, wieso die Analysten, die ja dennoch einen Zuwachs auf 1,35 Mrd. Umsatz (von aktuell 1,33 Mrd.) bei AMD prognostiziert hatten, dies nicht VORHER berücksichtigt hatten, wenn dies ein bekanntes Muster ist.
Es wäre freilich auch erstaunlich, wenn Intel JETZT SCHON Marktanteile zurückgewinnen würde, weil die CORE-Serie, die AMD das Fürchten lehren soll, bislang ja nur in Gestalt des Yonah-Notebook-Prozessors am Markt ist. Und Yonah wird nicht
so reißend weggehen, weil er keine 64-bit-Erweiterung für Vista hat. Erst Yonahs im Sommer/Herbst kommender Nachfolger Merom wird - wie die dann ebenfalls kommenden Conroe (PC) und Woodcrest (Server) - die 64-Bit-Erweiterung haben. (Die aktuellen Pentium-4 der herkömmlichen Bauart haben sie natürlich auch schon.)
Ein Analyst der Credit Suisse schätzt sogar (siehe unten, Bloomberg), dass AMD seinen Marktanteil im letzten Quartal um 2 % steigern konnte. Wenn das zuträfe (was in den Sternen steht), müsste Intel in dem Zeitraum 2 % weniger (in Stückzahlen) verkauft haben. Dies würde sich mit der - bereits Anfang März erfolgten! - Rücknahme von Intels Erwartung für die April-Zahlen decken, deren Midpoint sogar 5 % unter der vorigen Schätzung liegt (8,7 bis 9,1 Mrd. - statt 9,1 bis 9,6 Mrd.), also recht konservativ veranschlagt ist. (Die 5,3 % Marktverlust im NYT/AP-Artikel, der zweite unten, beziehen sich auf das gesamte Jahr, während sich die 2 % von Bloomberg auf das letzte Quartal beziehen. Die Bloomberg-Zahl ist daher die relevantere, da sie die aktuelle Veränderung zeigt.)
Spinnt man dies fort, könnte Intel die gesenkten April-Erwartungen um 3 % übertreffen, also auf Verkäufe von 9,35 Mrd (= midpoint alt) minus 2 % (Marktanteilsverlust an AMD) = 9,16 Mrd kommen. Damit würde das Ergebnis das obere Ende der gesenkten Spanne leicht übertreffen.
Zudem ist zu berücksichtigen, dass die 2 % Marktanteil, die AMD (vielleicht) dazugewonnen hat, überwiegend im Billig-Segment liegen, so dass der entsprechende Umsatzrückgang bei Intel wohl nur 1,5 % (oder weniger) beträgt.
Insgesamt ist bei Intel im April demnach eher mit einer positiven Überraschung zu rechnen als mit einer weiteren Enttäuschung.
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: April 13, 2006
Advanced Micro Devices, the world's second-largest maker of chips that run personal computers, posted its biggest profit in more than five years in the first quarter.
Net income was $184.5 million, or 38 cents a share, after a loss of $17.4 million, or 4 cents, a year ago, the company said yesterday. Sales gained 8.6 percent, to $1.33 billion.
The profit was the biggest since A.M.D. earned $408.6 million in the third quarter of 2000.
Analysts said the company's increased sales were coming from its Opteron chip for server computers and in its Turion chip for laptops, which competes with the Centrino chip made by the Intel Corporation, the largest chip maker.
Michael Masdea, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, estimated that A.M.D. increased its share of the $32 billion market for personal computer processors by another 2 percentage points in the first quarter. The company's market share was 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 11.9 percent in the previous three months.
New York Times/AP
April 13, 2006
AMD Posts 1Q Net Income of $185 Million
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Wednesday said it swung to a first-quarter profit that exceeded Wall Street expectations, as Intel Corp.'s smaller rival benefited from market-share gains and the spinoff of its unprofitable flash memory subsidiary.
The company's shares fell 2 percent in extended trading after it said revenue for the current quarter would be ''flat to slightly down'' from the first quarter. That was lower than the $1.35 billion analysts were expecting in a Thomson Financial survey.
The Sunnyvale-based company posted net income of $185 million, or 38 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 26, compared to a net loss of $17.4 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period last year. AMD's profit easily exceeded analysts' consensus estimates of 30 cents a share.
First-quarter sales grew 8.6 percent to $1.33 billion from $1.23 billion. Last year's results included $446 million worth of sales from memory products that are no longer counted on AMD's books. Excluding that revenue, which is now included as part of Spansion Inc.'s business, AMD's revenue gain was 70.5 percent.
''Any way you slice it this company did what they said they would do, and their major competitor, Intel, struggles vastly,'' said Doug Freedman, an analyst with American Technology Research.
AMD executives credited sales of more expensive chips and demand for its microprocessors, which act as the main engine in computers, across its server, desktop and mobile processor lines. Demand was particularly strong in China, Latin America, Russia and South Asia, the company said.
Intel, the world's biggest chip maker, in March lowered its first-quarter revenue forecast after seeing weaker-than-expected demand and a ''slight'' share loss. The company over the past year has suffered missteps with inventory buildups for some products, supply shortages for others and delays in getting updated microprocessors to market.
AMD over the past year has been stealing market share from Intel, as it produces chips that outperform its much bigger rival. Between the end of 2004 and the end of 2005, Intel lost 5.3 percentage points of share to AMD, according to Mercury Research.
AMD also is executing well as it updates its manufacturing lines, executives and analysts said. Last month, it began shipping microprocessors from a new factory in Germany. It said Wednesday the new facility is producing ''mature yields.''
''There had been concerns that when you start up a new factory, it's not as efficient because it's new and you're still learning how to operate it properly,'' Freedman said.
The higher volume AMD is seeing, combined with the refurbished factories is driving down the company's expenses. Gross margin, or the percentage of sales left after paying manufacturing costs, widened to 58.5 percent in the first quarter, from 57.3 percent in the period that ended in December and 53.3 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts also praised AMD executives for their management of inventories, which shrunk to $337 million last quarter from $388 million in the previous period.
AMD's results included $15 million worth of expenses for stock-based employee compensation and $20 million to redeem some notes issued by the company.
The first-quarter results were the first time AMD hasn't counted sales of memory products, which are now part of Spansion. Excluding sales of those products in the first quarter of 2005, revenue would have been $780 million.
The results were released after financial markets ended regular trading. Earlier, shares of AMD rose $1.07, or 3 percent, to close at $35.42 on the New York Stock Exchange. In after-hours trading, AMD shares fell 73 cents to $34.69.