AMD had a great fourth quarter, eking out the thinnest of profits for the first time in years and showing a much improved balance sheet thanks to the big payoff from Intel to settle antitrust issues. Now the company is going forward. CEO Dirk Meyer spelled out his plans on an earnings call with analysts, ServerWatch has the details.
AMD is going into 2010 without foundries or an Intel lawsuit to preoccupy it, which means the company is targeting new areas of growth following an outstanding fourth quarter.
The chipmaker has long favored the desktop market, and was a little late to market with a notebook platform compared to its rival Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). But AMD (NYSE: AMD) appears to finally be ready to rev up its mobile efforts and it’s off to a good start. For Q4 AMD said it had a 19 percent growth in notebook product revenues.
“We’re looking into next year feeling good about the PC market being a growth opportunity in 2010. We’re looking at the low double digits, around 10-12 percent. Our experience with Q4 confirms that thesis. Holiday sales were strong,” CEO Dirk Meyer told a conference call of analysts following the release of earnings Thursday.
“I was a little surprised at how robust demand was in Q4,” he added. “Some enterprises are clearly looking to start upgrading technology now. I’m not sure on momentum, hopeful it will continue. But we saw signs of strength everywhere.”