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Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) edged up 3/16 to 17 1/2 in early trading Tuesday, even after the chipmaker lowered expectations for fourth-quarter results because of a slowdown in demand for personal computers.
AMD (NYSE: AMD) said sales for the quarter will be "flat to nominally higher" than the third quarter's US$1.21 billion. Net income will total 50 to 60 cents per share, "depending on the relative strength of PC processor sales in the closing weeks of the quarter," the company said.
Because of weak demand for consumer PCs in the United States, shipments of processors will be "only nominally higher" than the 6.8 million shipped in the third quarter, AMD said.
The company had previously thought fourth quarter sales would grow "in the high single-digit range" when compared to the third quarter, with processor shipments of 8 million to 9 million.
"While the slowdown in demand for PCs has been attributed variously to excess channel inventory, a slowing economy, or buyer apathy, we believe it is temporary," said AMD chairman and chief executive officer W.J. Sanders III. "The PC in wired and wireless forms will continue to be the hub of the digital universe."
The company said demand for its Athlon processors remains strong, as does demand for its flash memory products.
AMD joins a growing list of makers of computers and components to be hit by
a slowdown in PC demand. Gateway, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and rival chipmaker Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) are among
companies that have recently warned of weaker-than-expected results for the
current quarter.
