iSuppli issues fast facts on AMD’s Q3 results

EL SEGUNDO, USA: To support media coverage of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s (AMD’s) third-quarter financial results announcement, iSuppli Corp. is issuing the following fast facts:

* AMD was the world’s second-largest seller of microprocessors in the second quarter of 2009 with an 11.9 percent share of global revenue. Intel Corp. held the No.-1 position. This market share figure includes all types of microprocessors and not just the PC-oriented X86 chips sold by AMD and Intel.

* AMD does significant business selling microprocessors for notebook PCs. iSuppli’s preliminary projection calls for notebook PC unit shipments to rise by a robust 15.1 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. This contrasts markedly with poor conditions in the first half of the year.

Global notebook PC unit shipments declined by 10.3 percent in the first quarter and generated only 2.3 percent growth in the second quarter, based on iSuppli's preliminary projection. iSuppli expects to revise the third-quarter estimate within the next few weeks.

* AMD also sells microprocessors for entry-level servers. Like the notebook PC area, the entry-level server market recovered in the third quarter after a weak first half, but much less robustly. Global entry-level server unit shipments are estimated to have grown by 4.6 percent in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, based on a preliminary projection from iSuppli. This compares to contractions of 13.2 percent in the first quarter and 0.6 percent in the second quarter.

* Both the notebook PC and entry-level server markets are expected to continue to expand sequentially in the fourth quarter. However, notebook PC unit shipment growth in the fourth quarter will decelerate to 12 percent compared to the third quarter, based on iSuppli's projection. Growth in the entry-level server segment will rise to 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter, according to iSuppli’s preliminary projected forecast.

* Like much of the semiconductor market, AMD in the third quarter benefitted from low semiconductor inventories throughout the electronics supply chain. Stockpiles of all types of semiconductors held by PC makers, including microprocessors, declined to 14.1 Days of Inventory (DOI) in the third quarter, iSuppli estimates, down 9.8 percent from 16.9 days in the second quarter. With inventory levels so low, end demand for PCs translated directly into sales of microprocessors for AMD.