Why Advanced Micro Devices Shares Plunged

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell more than 12% during intraday trading after the microchip specialist reported earnings that actually beat expectations. However, concerns remain regarding whether AMD's wins in the console gaming space will be able to offset declining chip sales from its PC segment.

So what: Quarterly revenue rose 15% from the same year-ago period to $1.46 billion, which translated to non-GAAP earnings of $0.04 per share. For reference, analysts on average were expecting adjusted earnings of just $0.02 per share on $1.42 in sales.

Now what: Much of that strength came from AMD's Graphics and Visual Solutions business, revenue from which nearly doubled over the same year-ago period thanks to its products' inclusion in both the upcoming Xbox One and Playstation 4 gaming consoles.

However, revenue from AMD's Computing Solutions segment also fell 6% from the previous quarter, helped partially by a slight increase in desktop PC shipments, but primarily hurt due to significantly lower notebook and chipset unit shipments.

Considering Intel stated just a few days ago its own PC segment revenue grew 3.5% from the previous quarter, analysts are now worried AMD could be losing more ground than expected to the lower-cost offerings from its larger competitor.

Of course, that doesn't mean AMD is automatically doomed, but for now it remains unclear just how many Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles will be sold in the months following their release, or just how long the positive effects from those wins will last. Until investors know more, I certainly wouldn't blame them for staying on the sidelines.

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The article Why Advanced Micro Devices Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. The Motley Fool owns shares of Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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