AMD forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates as data-center growth accelerates

AMD predicts fourth-quarter revenue to exceed Wall Street expectations, driven by robust demand for its chips as it intensifies its challenge to Nvidia's AI semiconductor supremacy. The stock rose by over 8% in after-hours trading, while Intel shares climbed 2%, Nvidia increased over 1%, and Broadcom advanced 1.2%. AMD's data-center revenue nearly doubled in Q3, and the company's shift towards real-world AI applications has boosted demand for its graphics processing units and central processors, enabling it to capture market share from rival Intel.

Intel had previously forecast quarterly revenue below estimates, causing a global chip stock sell-off. AMD expects fourth-quarter revenue of about $17 billion, with an adjusted gross margin of around 55%, slightly lower than the third quarter. The company has accelerated its AI product rollouts, moving beyond standalone chips to compete with Nvidia's rack-scale systems.

AMD's flagship Helios rack, featuring its MI455X accelerator and new Venice server chips, is under production and will expand in Q4. The initial systems are being tested at Meta, and in February, AMD agreed to sell up to $60 billion worth of AI chips to Meta over five years, allowing the Facebook owner to acquire up to 10% of the chip firm.

AMD's third-quarter revenue climbed 45% to $13.38 billion, surpassing estimates and data-center revenue jumped 97% to a record $8.55 billion, exceeding expectations. Adjusted profit reached $2.09 per share, compared to the estimated $1.95. Despite a global memory shortage affecting the AI industry, AMD's client and gaming segment, which includes PC chips and console processors, saw a 8% decline in third-quarter sales to $3.72 billion, missing estimates.

AMD also recently acquired Fei-Fei Li's World Labs, a startup developing AI models for 3D environments, for $8.2 billion in stock, strengthening its position in research on physical AI systems.