AMD sold 15.4 million CPUs in Q3 2012

In October AMD reported $157 million loss for the third quarter 2012, and consequentially announced company reorganization, laying off about 15% of its workforce. The company's revenue for Q3 was 1.27 billion, or 10% less than the quarter before. AMD quarterly earnings release didn't include detailed information on the number of microprocessors sold, however this information was revealed in the latest report from Mercury Research. According to the report, sales of AMD processors declined in mobile, desktop and server markets by 8 percent - 17 percent, or by 11.4 percent on average for all three markets.

About 60% of AMD mobile processors in Q3 were based on Bobcat microarchitecture. These ultra-low power chips turned out to be very successful due to their low prices and good graphics performance. The sales of Llano parts were down by more than 50%, and it feels like they will be discontinued in a quarter or two. The only mobile products, that sold better in the third quarter, were mainstream and high-performance Trinity-based CPUs. Since their launch in the first half of 2012, the sales of Trinity chips increased substantially, although they are still lower than the first quarter numbers for Llano processors:

Mobile CPUs	CPUs sold in Q2/2012 (in millions of units)	CPUs sold in Q3/2012 (in millions of units)	Difference between Q2 and Q3
Llano	1.262	0.543	-57%
Bobcat	5.561	4.674	-16%
Trinity	1.6	2.556	60%
Total	8423	7773	-7.7%

During the second and third quarters AMD sold almost as many desktop, as mobile processors. Unlike sales of mobile CPUs, which are mainly split between Bobcat- and Trinity-based products, the desktop market still includes big share of K10-based microprocessors. The sales of Llano desktop processors dropped significantly in Q3, which was partially offset by increased sales of Trinity and Bulldozer chips. Overall, the number of sold AMD desktop CPUs was down by 15%:

Desktop CPUs	CPUs sold in Q2/2012 (in millions of units)	CPUs sold in Q3/2012 (in millions of units)	Difference between Q2 and Q3
K10	3.259	2.659	-18.4%
Llano	3.332	0.592	-82.2%
Bobcat	1.218	1.335	9.6%
Trinity	0.261	1.467	462.1%
Bulldozer	0.633	1.365	115.6%
Total	8703	7418	-14.8%

The sales of server AMD microprocessors also declined in Q3 2012. Combined for all three markets, AMD sold 1.975 million fewer processors than in the second quarter:

Market segment	CPUs sold in Q2/2012 (in millions of units)	CPUs sold in Q3/2012 (in millions of units)	Difference between Q2 and Q3
Mobile CPUs (Total)	8.423	7.773	-7.7%
Desktop CPUs	8.703	7.418	-14.8%
Server CPUs (Total)	0.24	0.2	-16.7%
Total	17366	15391	-11.4%

Besides the holiday shopping season, there are a few reasons why the sales of AMD microprocessors may improve in the fourth quarter. Retail Trinity CPUs launched in last month of the third quarter, therefore their share is expected to grow in the following quarter. We can also hope for better sales of server and high-performance desktop AMD products, due to new "Piledriver" FX and Opteron 6300 CPUs, launched in November.

Source: 3DCenter