Tuesday, January 28th 2020

AMD Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2019 Financial Results

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) today announced revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 of $2.13 billion, operating income of $348 million, net income of $170 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.15. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $405 million, net income was $383 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.32. For fiscal year 2019, the company reported revenue of $6.73 billion, operating income of $631 million, net income of $341 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.30. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $840 million, net income was $756 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.64.

"2019 marked a significant milestone in our multi-year journey as we successfully launched and ramped the strongest product portfolio in our 50-year history," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. "We delivered significant margin expansion and increased profitability as we gained market share with our Ryzen and EPYC processors. Our focused execution and the investments we made in our high-performance computing roadmaps position us well for continued growth in 2020 and beyond."
Q4 2019 Results
  • Revenue of $2.13 billion was up 50 percent year-over-year primarily driven by the Computing and Graphics segment. Revenue was up 18 percent compared to the prior quarter as a result of higher revenue in the Computing and Graphics segment partially offset by lower revenue in the Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment.
  • Gross margin was 45 percent compared to 38 percent a year ago and 43 percent in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP gross margin was 45 percent compared to 41 percent a year ago and 43 percent in the prior quarter. Gross margin improvements were primarily driven by the ramp of 7 nm products.
  • Operating income was $348 million compared to $28 million a year ago and operating income of $186 million in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP operating income was $405 million compared to $109 million a year ago and $240 million in the prior quarter. Operating income improvements were primarily driven by revenue growth and the ramp of higher margin products.
  • Net income was $170 million compared to $38 million a year ago and net income of $120 million in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP net income was $383 million compared to $87 million a year ago and $219 million in the prior quarter.
  • Diluted earnings per share was $0.15 compared to $0.04 a year ago and $0.11 in the prior quarter. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.32 compared to $0.08 a year ago and $0.18 in the prior quarter.
  • Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $1.50 billion at the end of the quarter as compared to $1.21 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
  • Principal debt was reduced by $524 million resulting in a GAAP loss of $128 million.
  • Free cash flow was $400 million in the quarter compared to $79 million a year ago and $179 million in the prior quarter.
Quarterly Financial Segment Summary
Computing and Graphics segment revenue was $1.66 billion, up 69 percent year-over-year and 30 percent compared to the prior quarter driven primarily by strong sales of Ryzen processors and Radeon gaming GPUs.
  • Operating income was $360 million compared to $115 million a year ago and $179 million in the prior quarter. Operating income improvements were primarily driven by higher revenue from Ryzen processor sales.
  • Client processor average selling price (ASP) was up year-over-year and sequentially driven by Ryzen processor sales.
  • GPU ASP was up year-over-year and sequentially primarily driven by higher channel sales.
Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment revenue was $465 million, up 7 percent year-over-year driven by significantly higher EPYC processor sales, partially offset by lower semi-custom sales. Revenue declined 11 percent compared to the prior quarter due to lower semi-custom sales, partially offset by strong EPYC processor sales.
  • Operating income was $45 million compared to an operating loss of $6 million a year ago and operating income of $61 million in the prior quarter. The year-over-year improvement was primarily driven by higher EPYC processor revenue. The decrease compared to the prior quarter was due to lower semi-custom sales.
All Other operating loss was $57 million compared to operating losses of $81 million year-over-year and $54 million in the prior quarter.

2019 Annual Results
  • Revenue of $6.73 billion was up 4 percent year-over-year driven by higher revenue in the Computing and Graphics segment partially offset by lower revenue in the Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment.
  • Gross margin was 43 percent compared to 38 percent and non-GAAP gross margin was 43 percent compared to 39 percent in the prior year. Gross margin expansion was primarily driven by Ryzen and EPYC products.
  • Operating income was $631 million compared to $451 million and non-GAAP operating income was $840 million compared to $633 million in the prior year. The operating income improvement was primarily driven by higher revenue and gross margin expansion.
  • Net income was $341 million compared to $337 million and non-GAAP net income was $756 million compared to $514 million in the prior year.
  • Diluted earnings per share was $0.30 compared to $0.32 in 2018. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.64 compared to $0.46 in the prior year.
  • Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $1.50 billion at the end of the year compared to $1.16 billion at the end of 2018.
  • Principal debt was reduced by $965 million resulting in a GAAP loss of $176 million.
  • Free cash flow was $276 million for the year compared to negative $129 million in 2018.
Recent PR Highlights
  • AMD announced new mobile processors for upcoming ultrathin, gaming and mainstream laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and other OEMs.
  • The AMD Ryzen 4000 Series Mobile Processor family includes the world's highest performance and only 8 core processor available for ultrathin laptops. Built on the groundbreaking 7 nm-based "Zen 2" architecture and featuring optimized high-performance Radeon graphics, the 4000 Series provides incredible performance and power efficiency.
  • AMD announced the AMD Athlon 3000 Series Mobile Processor family, bringing consumers more choice and enabling modern computing experiences for mainstream notebooks.
  • The first AMD Ryzen 4000 Series and Athlon 3000 Series powered laptops are expected to be available starting in Q1 2020, with more than 100 systems expected to launch throughout 2020.
  • AMD unveiled new high-performance desktop processors designed to deliver the best experiences for gamers and creators.
  • AMD introduced the world's most powerful desktop processors, the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper family, including the 24-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, 32-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X and the world's first 64-core desktop processor, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X.
  • AMD launched the AMD Ryzen 9 3950X, the fastest and most powerful 16-core consumer desktop processor.
  • AMD continued to expand its presence in the data center and high-performance computing markets with new AMD EPYC processor customers and platforms.
  • AWS and Microsoft Azure announced new cloud instances for high-performance computing powered by 2nd Gen EPYC processors.
  • New supercomputers powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors include the Expanse system at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the latest extension of France's GENCI Joliot-Curie supercomputer.
  • Fujitsu, Gigabyte, HPE, Penguin, Synopsys and Tyan announced new platforms based on 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors, bringing the total number of AMD EPYC processor-powered platforms to more than 100.
  • AMD expanded its gaming and professional graphics card offerings:
  • AMD unveiled the AMD Radeon RX 5600 Series for ultimate 1080p gaming, including the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 and the AMD Radeon RX 5600M for laptop PCs. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 Series offers up to 20 percent faster performance on average across select AAA games compared to competitive offerings.
  • AMD announced the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card. Built on the AMD RDNA architecture and industry-leading 7 nm process technology, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT provides up to 13 percent faster performance on average in today's top AAA games than the competition.
  • Apple announced the latest Apple MacBook Pro, featuring the new AMD Radeon Pro 5500M and 5300M mobile GPUs. Leveraging the powerful AMD RDNA architecture, AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series GPUs deliver groundbreaking levels of graphics performance for video editing, 3D content creation and macOS-based game development.
  • AMD launched the world's first 7 nm professional PC workstation graphics card for 3D designers, architects and engineers, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700 graphics card. The Radeon Pro W5700 harnesses the high-performance, energy-efficient AMD RDNA architecture to deliver new levels of performance.
Current Outlook
AMD's outlook statements are based on current expectations. The following statements are forward-looking and actual results could differ materially depending on market conditions and the factors set forth under "Cautionary Statement".

For the first quarter of 2020, AMD expects revenue to be approximately $1.8 billion, plus or minus $50 million, an increase of approximately 42 percent year-over-year and a decrease of approximately 15 percent sequentially. The year-over-year increase is expected to be driven by strong growth of Ryzen, EPYC and Radeon product sales. The sequential decrease is driven primarily by negligible semi-custom revenue which continues to soften in advance of the ramp of next generation products, in addition to seasonality. AMD expects non-GAAP gross margin to be approximately 46 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

For the full year 2020, AMD expects revenue growth of approximately 28 to 30 percent over 2019 driven by strength across all businesses. AMD expects non-GAAP gross margin to be approximately 45 percent for 2020.
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57 Comments on AMD Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2019 Financial Results

#51
kapone32
64KI have seen estimates as high as $10 gross profit from each chip sold to the console manufacturers after the cost to fab the chips that would place the gross profit at around 1 billion dollars over a period of several years but that doesn't mean all of that money went into AMD's bank account. There are R&D costs to recoup on the chip design staff at AMD to pay, rent, utilities, defective chips that were returned to AMD for a refund etc.

The most telling thing of all was that Intel and Nvidia weren't even interested in the console contracts because they both liked a high profit margin and they didn't see the console contracts as worth bothering with.
It would be very interesting to know the true number, feeding the 2 biggest fish in the console pond must be worth something. :)
XaledConsoles are extremely cheap when comlared to PCs. Even Sony and Microsoft don't win from the console themselves. They win later when people buy content.
The only reason that these 2 firms preferred AMD over Intel and Nvidia is that AMD is making it so cheap. There is no earn for AMD in console business that's why they don't want to explain console numbers to investors . Too much effort and expense with no return.
If you say so. Ask them that question if each of them only sold 10000 units at launch.
Posted on Reply
#52
Vya Domus
64KThere are R&D costs to recoup on the chip design staff at AMD to pay, rent, utilities, defective chips that were returned to AMD for a refund etc.
R&D and all of that are included in operating expenses, that's what profit is supposed to mean, it's the money you're left with after you subtract the expenses from the income. If it was estimated that they made 1 billion in profit that means it included all of that.
64KThe most telling thing of all was that Intel and Nvidia weren't even interested
You can bet they would have done everything they could to get their hands on a contract like that. But they couldn't, AMD had offered the cheapest and easiest solution with their APUs.

Nvidia did get the Nintendo Switch with the Tegra X1 but what do you know mobile SoCs are even lower margin products. So clearly they have an interest in this but they can't deliver something competitive for MS and Sony.
Posted on Reply
#53
medi01
XaledActually it is, AMD went through bad days because they focused on Consoles and APUs instead of CPUs and GPUs
AMD went through bad days, because when they had excellent products, OEMs were afraid of taking it, even if offered for free.
And if you think those days are far gone, check MSI CEOs words of silly honesty.
64KThere are R&D costs to recoup on the chip design staff at AMD to pay, rent, utilities, defective chips that were returned to AMD for a refund etc.
AMD gets paid for development separately.
Posted on Reply
#54
Flyordie
notbHardly anyone wants AMD to die. I think you're mistaking the "sides".

These are not good figures. I don't understand why people cheer so much. AMD will open at -4%.
My statement was more along with how she took the money she had, the time she had and made the decisions that got us Ryzen. She put AMD back into a position that they have a shot at surviving the next 5-10 years.
Posted on Reply
#55
notb
FlyordieMy statement was more along with how she took the money she had, the time she had and made the decisions that got us Ryzen. She put AMD back into a position that they have a shot at surviving the next 5-10 years.
As I mention from time to time: I don't understand why people give Su so much credit. She's a CEO. She makes general, big-picture decisions. Some worked, great. But someone else guided Zen development and someone else actually designed it.

Of course it's great when CEO understands products and employees tasks (something I experienced as well...).
But on the other hand: it seems like other people at AMD are kept in Su's shadow and we rarely have a chance to get to know them better.
And when we do, like during latest CES (the only AMD presentation I've seen live), they just seem a bit drab and unprepared.
Koduri, also surrounded by a cult at some point, clearly had high ambitions and was pretty good in front of a camera. And he left.

As for AMD's results...
It starts to become obvious that financially it's not all green at the Red team. Good chips are not enough. They have to pack them as good products.
So yeah... I personally believe there's a decent chance of Su being replaced this year. I know it's quite far fetched and likely totally incomprehensible for some fans.
But a good CPU is here and IMO AMD currently needs more people that understand advertising on Instagram (and OEM partnerships...).
Or they can remain a DIY desktop brand, which could be fine as well, but means most people (including me) will read a lot about AMD product, but never use them. :)
Posted on Reply
#56
Flyordie
notbAs I mention from time to time: I don't understand why people give Su so much credit. She's a CEO. She makes general, big-picture decisions. Some worked, great. But someone else guided Zen development and someone else actually designed it.

Of course it's great when CEO understands products and employees tasks (something I experienced as well...).
But on the other hand: it seems like other people at AMD are kept in Su's shadow and we rarely have a chance to get to know them better.
And when we do, like during latest CES (the only AMD presentation I've seen live), they just seem a bit drab and unprepared.
Koduri, also surrounded by a cult at some point, clearly had high ambitions and was pretty good in front of a camera. And he left.

As for AMD's results...
It starts to become obvious that financially it's not all green at the Red team. Good chips are not enough. They have to pack them as good products.
So yeah... I personally believe there's a decent chance of Su being replaced this year. I know it's quite far fetched and likely totally incomprehensible for some fans.
But a good CPU is here and IMO AMD currently needs more people that understand advertising on Instagram (and OEM partnerships...).
Or they can remain a DIY desktop brand, which could be fine as well, but means most people (including me) will read a lot about AMD product, but never use them. :)
I agree with you there. Koduri wanted more $$ to finish Vega. He didn't get it. So he left once it was launched. Yes, she's just the CEO but she's also a well versed engineer.

and yes, but.. thankfully.. a bunch of OEMs are finally telling Intel to pack it and buying AMD chips for laptops and pre-builts etc.. Wal-Mart just did this past November with their in house Motile brand laptops.
Posted on Reply
#57
medi01
FlyordieKoduri wanted more $$ to finish Vega. He didn't get it.
Yeah, he said drivers.
GPU companies, he said, are about drivers.
It is very very complicated to write drivers, that is why there is only a handful of GPU companies, he literally said.

I'm so glad he left.
Posted on Reply
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