AMD Q4 sales decline remained small thanks to good sales of Ryzen CPUs and Radeon GPUs

AMD has reported fourth-quarter revenue for Q4  2017. Turnover and profit were lower than in the third quarter, but the decline in profit and turnover remained relatively small thanks to an increase in Ryzen processor and Radeon graphics cards sales.

AMD) today announced revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017 of $1.48 billion, operating income of $82 million and net income of $61 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.06. Non-GAAP(1) operating income was $103 million, non-GAAP(1) net income was $88 million and non-GAAP(1) diluted earnings per share was $0.08.

For fiscal 2017, the Company reported revenue of $5.33 billion, operating income of $204 million and net income of $43 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.04.  Non-GAAP(1) operating income was $301 million, non-GAAP(1) net income was $179 million and non-GAAP(1) diluted earnings per share was $0.17.

“2017 marked a key inflection point for AMD as we re-shaped our product portfolio, delivered 25 percent annual revenue growth, expanded gross margin and achieved full-year profitability," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. "We are even more excited about 2018 as we launch our next wave of high-performance products and continue to position AMD as one of the premier long-term growth companies in the technology industry.”

Q4 2017 Results

• Revenue of $1.48 billion was up 34 percent year-over-year, primarily driven by strong sales of Radeon™ graphics and Ryzen™ processors. Revenue was down 10 percent sequentially, primarily driven by seasonally lower sales of semi-custom SoCs.
• Gross margin was 35 percent, up 3 percentage points year-over-year and flat sequentially.
• On a GAAP basis, operating income was $82 million compared to an operating loss of $3 million a year ago and operating income of $126 million in the prior quarter. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher revenue from the Computing and Graphics segment, while the sequential decrease was primarily due to seasonally lower Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment revenue. Net income was $61 million compared to a net loss of $51 million a year ago and net income of $71 million in the prior quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $0.06 compared to a loss per share of $0.06 a year ago and diluted earnings per share of $0.07 in the prior quarter.
• On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $103 million compared to operating income of $26 million a year ago and $155 million in the prior quarter. The year-over-year improvement was primarily due to higher revenue from the Computing and Graphics segment, while the sequential decrease was primarily due to seasonally lower Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment revenue. Net income was $88 million compared to net loss of $8 million a year ago and net income of $110 million in the prior quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $0.08 compared to a loss per share of $0.01 a year ago and diluted earnings per share of $0.10 in the prior quarter.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $1.18 billion at the end of the quarter, up $306 million from the end of the prior quarter.

2017 Annual Results

• Revenue of $5.33 billion, up 25 percent on an annual basis, was driven by an increase in the Computing and Graphics segment.
• On a GAAP basis, gross margin was 34 percent, up 11 percentage points from the prior year primarily due to the absence of a $340 million charge (WSA charge) recorded in 2016 associated with an amendment to our wafer supply agreement with GLOBALFOUNDRIES. Operating income was $204 millioncompared to an operating loss of $372 million in the prior year. The operating income improvement was primarily due to higher revenue and gross margin expansion in 2017, and the absence of the WSA charge recorded in 2016, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Net income was $43 million compared to a net loss of $497 million in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share was $0.04 compared to a loss per share of $0.60 in 2016.
• On a non-GAAP(1) basis, gross margin was 34 percent, up 3 percentage points year-over-year primarily due to improved revenue mix from new products. Operating income was $301 million compared to an operating income of $44 million in the prior year. Operating income improvement was primarily related to higher revenue and gross margin expansion, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Net income was $179 million compared to a net loss of $117 million in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share was $0.17 compared to a loss per share of $0.14 in 2016.
• Cash and cash equivalents were $1.18 billion at the end of the year, down from $1.26 billion at the end of 2016.

Quarterly Financial Segment Summary

• Computing and Graphics segment revenue was $958 million, up 60 percent year-over-year and 17 percent sequentially. The year-over-year and sequential increases were primarily driven by strong sales of Radeon graphics and Ryzen desktop processors.
  ◦         Operating income was $85 million, compared to an operating loss of $21 million in Q4 2016 and operating income of $70 million in Q3 2017. The year-over-year and sequential improvements were primarily driven by higher revenue.
  ◦         Client average selling price (ASP) was up year-over-year driven by higher Ryzen desktop processors ASP. Client ASP was flat sequentially.
  ◦         GPU ASP increased year-over-year and sequentially due to higher desktop and professional graphics ASP.
• Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment revenue was $522 million, up 3 percent year-over-year driven by server revenue. Sequentially, revenue decreased 37 percent driven by seasonally lower semi-custom SoC revenue.
  ◦         Operating income was $19 million compared to $47 million in Q4 2016 and $84 million in Q3 2017. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to the absence of a $31 million licensing gain in Q4 2016 and an increase in R&D expenses, partially offset by the benefit from a richer product mix. The sequential decrease was primarily due to seasonally lower semi-custom SoC revenue.
• All Other operating loss was $22 million compared with operating losses of $29 million in Q4 2016 and $28 million in Q3 2017. The year-over-year and sequential improvement was primarily related to lower stock-based compensation charges in Q4 2017.

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” below.

For Q1 2018, AMD expects revenue to be approximately $1.55 billion, plus or minus $50 million, an increase of 32 percent year-over-year, primarily driven by the strength of the ramp of new Ryzen, GPU and EPYC products.

Guidance for Q1 2018 and the year-over-year comparison are under the new revenue recognition accounting standard (ASC 606). AMD is adopting the new revenue recognition standard by applying the “full retrospective” method. For comparative purposes under the new standard, Q1 2017 restated revenue was $1.18 billion and Q4 2017 restated revenue was $1.34 billion.

For fiscal 2018, AMD expects the impact of the new standard on revenue to be immaterial.