How bad of shape is AMD really in?

[Dabombinable]

It also could be argued that the purchase of ATI was a long term investment. It was an expensive buy although it has been shedding AMD money in some areas. APU's account for 70% of the companies total revenue which wouldn't of been possible without the acquisition of that IP. AMD is stacking inventory as we speak for the next batch of consoles for the holiday season which will help the company greatly as they tack on more clientele and with the ban of consoles in China being lifted (untapped $10 billion dollar market). They may not be making a bazillion dollars off the acquisition right now but over time it will eventually pay for itself.

You do realize that AMD makes little profit of consoles?

[mr moose]

Pre-Steve Jobs (part II) Apple. 

 

I'll amend my statement :

 

I can only think of one and there might be the odd one or two more that have faired so poorly for as long and not gone under or been bough out.

[mr moose]

You do realize that AMD makes little profit of consoles?

 

Well, If they hadn't messed up with seamicro the consoles would have been their only profit.

[Opcode]

You do realize that AMD makes little profit of consoles?

I would imagine large profit as it's no cost out of pocket for AMD meanwhile they get $10 per console sold.

 

 

AMD has took in a revenue of over $394 million in console sales over the course of 14 months.

[zappian]

AMD is not going anywhere people.

Their gpu division is just too strong.

What will happen to AMD will be the same as what happened to macromedia or ATI , they are gonna fuse into another company.

All this doom and gloom about AMD disappearing from the face of the earth COMPLETELY is silly and makes no sense.

[Opcode]

AMD is not going anywhere people.

Their gpu division is just too strong.

What will happen to AMD will be the same as what happened to macromedia or ATI , they are gonna fuse into another company.

All this doom and gloom about AMD disappearing from the face of the earth COMPLETELY is silly and makes no sense.

People get the impression that stock value dropping and them shutting down branches of the company is them dying. Really its not as Lisa Su has said that she will shift the focus of the company towards profitable markets. The shutdown of SeaMicro was a prime example of her living up to her word. SeaMicro was costing AMD money and they were making nothing back so the smart move was to pay the $70 million to have it closed down instead of dumping double that into the company just to lose it over the course of the next year. Rory branched out the company and made a lot of purchases that he shouldn't have and now Lisa has to clean up the mess.

[Dabombinable]

I would imagine large profit as it's no cost out of pocket for AMD meanwhile they get $10 per console sold.

 

 

AMD has took in a revenue of over $394 million in console sales over the course of 14 months.

And that did them no favors as they still lost money. They just don't make enough off consoles to save them, only enough to keep them afloat a bit longer.

[Opcode]

And that did them no favors as they still lost money. They just don't make enough off consoles to save them, only enough to keep them afloat a bit longer.

They lost money just not from console sales. I remember when the first wave of consoles hit the market AMD stocks shot up. With them preparing for the next generation of consoles meanwhile taking on a new client (Nintendo) also coupled with a untapped market (China) the next set of consoles could double AMD's earnings in comparison to the last generation. There's money to be had from consoles, it may not come all at once but there's money to be had.

[JamGorby]

I'll amend my statement :

 

I can only think of one and there might be the odd one or two more that have faired so poorly for as long and not gone under or been bough out.

Actually, AMD could use a Steve Jobs right about now; A PR and marketing genius. 

They need to fix their reputation just as much as they need new and better products. 

[mr moose]

Actually, AMD could use a Steve Jobs right about now; A PR and marketing genius. 

They need to fix their reputation just as much as they need new and better products. 

 

Exactly.  The problem they have is losses are losses, it doesn't matter how good we think any one division might be doing, if they keep posting losses then it's bad news.  Only one way to not post losses - sell more product, and the only way to do that is with a PR genius at the helm.

[Dabombinable]

Exactly.  The problem they have is losses are losses, it doesn't matter how good we think any one division might be doing, if they keep posting losses then it's bad news.  Only one way to not post losses - sell more product, and the only way to do that is with a PR genius at the helm.

Which they don't have and probably won't have for a while if at all.

[mr moose]

Which they don't have and probably won't have for a while if at all.

 

I was just reading some financial reviews, I knew they where having trouble but I didn't realise they scored below 1.8 (actually going into negative once) several times on the altman z score.  

 

For those who don't know the altman Z score is a bankruptcy indicator, scoring less than 1.8 indicates a 72% chance of bankruptcy in the next 2 years.

AMD seems to have escaped that fate twice.

[Opcode]

I was just reading some financial reviews, I knew they where having trouble but I didn't realise they scored below 1.8 (actually going into negative once) several times on the altman z score.  

 

For those who don't know the altman Z score is a bankruptcy indicator, scoring less than 1.8 indicates a 72% chance of bankruptcy in the next 2 years.

AMD seems to have escaped that fate twice.

Probably in between 07 and 09 when the company was in massive debt. AMD owes less than half now than what they did back when.

[mr moose]

Probably in between 07 and 09 when the company was in massive debt. AMD owes less than half now than what they did back when.

 

Negative in 2008 and again in late 2010 but the rest of the time it has been distressed (never above 1.8).

[Opcode]

Negative in 2008 and again in late 2010 but the rest of the time it has been distressed (never above 1.8).

Figured 2008 as much due to their debt and 2010 seems reasonable as they paid off half of their debt from the previous year ($2 billion).

[mr moose]

Figured 2008 as much due to their debt and 2010 seems reasonable as they paid off half of their debt from the previous year ($2 billion).

 

Good news is they are not in the top ten likely to go bankrupt this year, however I am not paying a sub to one of the trading analytic companies to find out what their current score is.

[Guest]

Two things I'd like to bring up. 

1. New/faster tech will not automatically save AMD. 

If these things are released and compete well with, or even beat, their competitors it doesn't necessarily mean AMD will suddenly be successful again. Do they have the money for PR and marketing? How are they going to let the general consumer know about the advantages of these products? They can't simply release a product, at this point, and let the benchmarks do the talking. They have to convince the general consumer and OEMs that their products are viable again. Public perception is a big part of marketability. AMD is not perceived well by the general public. People like (most) of us actually account for a small part of the tech consumer market. So targeting the high end market, the people who actually care about benchmarks and such, may have a trickle down effect of giving AMD's potential improvements a bit more visibility, but I doubt it will be a substitute for a good marketing and PR strategy. They need to change their perception of cheapness. I can only speak for the consumer side. I don't pay much attention to the server/workstation side of things. But, from my limited perspective, the struggle appears to be the same there for them as well. 

2. Desktop APU's are not the answer, and are likely a problem. 

APU's cannot be a solid future for AMD and it's funny how they don't seem to realize this. The average budget PC buyer is not a gamer and couldn't be bothered to know what kind of GPU capabilities is in their sub $500 laptops which seems to be the only market where the APU's are actually selling. In the desktop world, they run the risk of competing with themselves by making APU's any more powerful. They will never be able to make an APU with GPU capabilities better than their lowest tier card in that particular generation. Doing so would negate their entry level video card market. I think it's a road they should stop trying to go down lest they unleash the wrath of Intel, who isn't in any other segment of the GPU market thus have no limits on how powerful they could make an iGPU. It would be an arms race AMD would have no choice but to lose. The strategy is a dead end for anything other than the entry level where it should stay. $100+ APU's for the desktop need to go away. 

Edit: Either that, or junk like the r7240/250 class of products needs to go away. 

All of this is going to be compounded by the fact that PC sales in general are bad right now. Calling it an uphill battle is an understatement. 

 

i don't know about what everyone else thinks, but I would have definitely bought a Kaveri APU if it wasn't for the fact that the Dual Graphics feature only works on the R7 250 and everything below that.