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AMD explained: how it makes money, how it's doing, what protects it

A plain-English guide to the company behind Ryzen and Instinct chips. See what it sells, where the money goes, who it competes with and what keeps customers coming back.

⚡What does AMD do, in 30 seconds?

AMD designs computer chips for PCs, servers, AI, game consoles and machines 2 2 2. It sold $34.6bn ✓ in FY2025, and data centers made up 48% ✓ of that. AMD does not make its own chips: TSMC builds its most advanced ones 24.

Revenue, FY2025
$34.6bn✓
Profit, FY2025
$4.3bn✓
Sales growth, 4 quarters to 27 Jun 2026
39.5%✓
Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted), 27 Jun 2026
$9.9bn✓
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California 25
Founded
1969 25
Employees
About 31,000 25
CEO
Lisa Su, since October 2014 33
Fiscal year ends
Last Saturday of December 25
Factories
None: AMD designs chips and partners make them 24

📱What does AMD sell?

AMD has three business lines, and Data Center is now the biggest. Here is what each one sells and who buys it.

🖥️

Data Center

In FY2025, chips and systems for big computer centers brought in $16.6bn ✓. They include server processors, AI chips (AMD calls them accelerators), AI network cards and FPGAs 2. The brand names include EPYC for server chips and Instinct for AI chips 3. By August 2026 AMD had also launched Helios, a whole rack of AI gear 4.

👥 Large cloud companies, buying directly or inside servers built by other firms 2. AI labs and tech firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle 4, plus US Energy Department supercomputers 5.

🎮

Client and Gaming

In FY2025 this business made $14.6bn ✓. It sells Ryzen processors for laptops and desktops 2 2, Radeon RX graphics chips for gaming PCs 2, and custom chips inside game consoles 2.

👥 PC makers, distributors and makers of motherboards and graphics cards 2, plus Sony, Microsoft and Valve for their game machines 2.

🚗

Embedded

Chips built into other machines: embedded processors, reprogrammable FPGA chips and adaptive chips 2. AMD added the FPGA maker Xilinx in 2022 6. Sales were $3.5bn ✓ in FY2025.

👥 Makers of planes and defense gear, cars, factory machines, medical and vision systems, network gear and test equipment 2.

How the mix has shifted

Revenue mix by productFY2023Data Center: $6.5bn (29%)Data Center 29%Client and Gaming: $10.9bn (48%)Client and Gaming 48%Embedded: $5.3bn (23%)Embedded 23%FY2024Data Center: $12.6bn (49%)Data Center 49%Client and Gaming: $9.6bn (37%)Client and Gaming 37%Embedded: $3.6bn (14%)Embedded 14%FY2025Data Center: $16.6bn (48%)Data Center 48%Client and Gaming: $14.6bn (42%)Client and Gaming 42%Embedded: $3.5bn (10%)Embedded 10%
Revenue mix by productFY23Data Center: $6.5bn (29%)29%Client and Gaming: $10.9bn (48%)48%Embedded: $5.3bn (23%)23%FY24Data Center: $12.6bn (49%)49%Client and Gaming: $9.6bn (37%)37%Embedded: $3.6bn (14%)14%FY25Data Center: $16.6bn (48%)48%Client and Gaming: $14.6bn (42%)42%Embedded: $3.5bn (10%)Data CenterClient and GamingEmbedded
Share of revenue by business line, by fiscal year. Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 10-K filed 2026-02-04.

Where the customers are

The United States brings in the biggest share of AMD's sales, at 33% ✓ in FY2025. China at 22% ✓, Taiwan at 15% ✓ and Singapore at 12% ✓ are also big. AMD says sales outside the United States made up 67% of its revenue in 2025 10.

Revenue by regionUnited States$11.4bn 33% of salesChina$7.8bn 22% of salesTaiwan$5.2bn 15% of salesSingapore$4.3bn 12% of salesOther countries$6.1bn 17% of sales
Revenue by regionUnited States$11.4bn 33%China$7.8bn 22%Taiwan$5.2bn 15%Singapore$4.3bn 12%Other countries$6.1bn 17%
Revenue by region, FY2025. Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 10-K filed 2026-02-04.

💸How does AMD make money?

Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what customers pay for, what it costs to make, and what is left as profit.

Money map FY2025: how revenue turns into profitData Center → Revenue: $16.6bnClient and Gaming → Revenue: $14.6bnEmbedded → Revenue: $3.5bnRevenue → Gross profit: $17.2bnRevenue → Cost of sales: $17.5bnGross profit → Operating profit: $3.7bnGross profit → R&D: $8.1bnGross profit → Selling & admin: $4.1bnGross profit → Other operating costs: $1.2bnOperating profit → Net income: $3.7bnTax credit → Net income: $0.1bnOther income → Net income: $0.5bnData Center$16.6bn · 48%Client and Gaming$14.6bn · 42%Embedded$3.5bn · 10%Revenue$34.6bnGross profit$17.2bn · 50%Cost of sales$17.5bn · 50%Operating profit$3.7bn · 11%R&D$8.1bn · 23%Selling & admin$4.1bn · 12%Other operating costs$1.2bn · 4%Net income$4.3bn · 13%Other income$0.5bn · 2%Tax credit$0.1bn · <1%
Money map FY2025: how revenue turns into profitData Center: $16.6bnClient and Gaming: $14.6bnEmbedded: $3.5bnData Center$16.6bn · 48%Client and Gaming$14.6bn · 42%Embedded$3.5bn · 10%Revenue: $34.6bnRevenue$34.6bn · 100%Gross profit: $17.2bnCost of sales: $17.5bnGross profit$17.2bn · 50%Cost of sales$17.5bn · 50%Operating profit: $3.7bnR&D: $8.1bnSelling & admin: $4.1bnOther operating costs: $1.2bnOperating profit$3.7bn · 11%R&D$8.1bn · 23%Selling & admin$4.1bn · 12%Other operating costs$1.2bn · 4%Net income: $4.3bnTax credit, added to profit: $0.1bnNet income$4.3bn · 13%Tax credit, added to profit$0.1bn · <1%
Money map (a Sankey diagram): band widths are to scale. Hover a band for the amount. Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 10-K filings.

AMD sold $34.6bn ✓ of chips and systems in FY2025. Making those chips cost $17.5bn ✓. What is left is gross profit, the money kept after paying for what was sold. That came to $17.2bn ✓.

Next come the costs of running the company. Research and development took $8.1bn ✓, the biggest cost after making the chips. Sales, marketing and admin took $4.1bn ✓, and other operating costs took $1.2bn ✓. That left operating profit of $3.7bn ✓. Other gains of $0.5bn ✓ and a small tax credit lifted net income to $4.3bn ✓. Put simply, out of every hundred dollars of sales, AMD kept about $13 ✓ as profit.

Out of every $100 customers paid in FY2025…

Making the products and services $50Research and development $23Selling and admin $12Other operating costs $4Profit kept $13Other income, gains and a tax credit, added on top +$2

Other income, gains and a tax credit added +$2 for every $100 of sales, so the slices above add up to a little more than $100.

💡
AMD's three segments look more profitable than the company as a whole, because some costs sit outside them 10. In 2025 a separate bucket called All Other lost $4.0bn, mostly $2.3bn of amortisation from past purchases and $1.6bn of stock pay 10.

⏱️ AMD by the clock

Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 364 days and you get this. Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 10-K [7].

🛒
$95m
in sales every day
⏱️
$138
of profit every second
🔬
$22m
on research every day
🎁
$4m
handed to shareholders every day

📈How is AMD doing?

AMD has grown fast over ten years, though its profit margins are still modest. Sales grew 24.1% ✓ a year on average from FY2015 to FY2025. They rose in 9 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. In FY2015 AMD lost money, with an operating margin of -12.1% ✓. By FY2025 that margin was 10.7% ✓, and gross margin had climbed from 27.1% ✓ to 49.5% ✓.

FY2025 sales were a record 34, up 34.3% ✓ on the year before. The latest four quarters, to 27 June 2026, look stronger still. Sales reached $41.3bn ✓, up 39.5% ✓ on the four quarters before. In Q2 2026 alone, sales hit a record $11.5bn, up 50%, and Data Center sales rose 107% to $6.7bn 4. Operating margin reached 15.7% ✓ over the latest four quarters, up from 10.7% ✓ in FY2025. China export charges blur that change. In Q2 2025 a US licence rule on AI chips for China led AMD to take about $800m of charges 22. It reversed about $360m of them in Q4 2025 22. The latest four quarters include that reversal but not the first charge 22. Free cash flow reached $8.4bn ✓ over the same four quarters.

📝 The report card

AMD earns top marks for its balance sheet and good marks for growth, a middling mark for cash and weak marks for profit and steadiness. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where AMD (orange) and its 4 peers land; further right is better.

B

Growth

Sales growth per year, last 3 fiscal years
13.6% · peer median 12.2%
#3 of 5 in the peer group
A ≥ 15.0%B ≥ 10.0%C ≥ 5.0%D ≥ 0.0%F below 0.0%

AMD's sales grew 13.6% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns a B ✓ on the fixed scale. NVIDIA grew 100.0% ✓ a year over its own latest three years, good for an A ✓. Intel's sales growth was -5.7% ✓ a year.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Growing sales is the engine of a business. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.

D

Profitability

Operating margin, last 3 years combined
7.2% · peer median 30.9%
#4 of 5 in the peer group
A ≥ 30.0%B ≥ 20.0%C ≥ 10.0%D ≥ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, AMD kept 7.2% ✓ of sales as operating profit, which earns a D ✓. One drag is amortisation from past purchases, an accounting cost that came to $2.3bn in 2025 alone 10. The peer median is far higher, at 30.9% ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Operating margin is the share of each sales dollar left after running the business. Software and platforms often clear 30%; hardware makers usually sit below 10%.

C

Cash generation

Free cash flow as a share of sales, last 3 years combined
12.3% · peer median 35.3%
#4 of 5 in the peer group
A ≥ 20.0%B ≥ 15.0%C ≥ 10.0%D ≥ 5.0%F below 5.0%

Over the last three years combined, AMD turned 12.3% ✓ of sales into free cash flow, which earns a C ✓. FY2025 alone was much better, at 19.4% ✓. Still, the peer median is 35.3% ✓.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

Free cash flow is the cash left after paying for factories, data centres and equipment. It funds dividends, buybacks and new bets.

A

Balance sheet

Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings; leases and stakes in other companies not counted) as a share of a year's sales
21.2% · peer median -13.9%
#1 of 5 in the peer group
A ≥ 20.0%B ≥ 5.0%C ≥ -10.0%D ≥ -30.0%F below -30.0%

At the end of FY2025, AMD's cash and investments minus its borrowings (leases and stakes in other companies not counted) equalled 21.2% ✓ of a year's sales, which earns an A ✓. That ranks AMD 1 ✓ of 5 ✓ in this peer group, just ahead of NVIDIA at 19.1% ✓. Broadcom sits at -76.6% ✓. AMD raised $4.75bn of new bonds in August 2026, after these figures were taken 13.

Why this measure? (higher is better)

More cash than debt gives a company room to ride out bad years. Some debt is normal; a lot of it makes a company fragile.

F

Steadiness

How much yearly sales growth swings (standard deviation, up to 10 years)
22.1% · peer median 15.6%
#4 of 5 in the peer group
A ≤ 5.0%B ≤ 8.0%C ≤ 12.0%D ≤ 18.0%F above 18.0%

AMD's yearly growth swings a lot, with a swing score (standard deviation) of 22.1% ✓, which earns an F ✓. Sales jumped 68.3% ✓ in FY2021, but growth was -3.9% ✓ in FY2023. Intel's growth swings less, at 10.2% ✓.

Why this measure? (lower is better)

Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean sales depend on product cycles, the economy or one-off events.

🧑‍🏫 How the grades work
  1. Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
  2. Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
  3. Peers for context. The rank shows how AMD compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
  4. Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
  5. Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.

11 years at a glance

Revenue
$34.6bn
FY2025
Revenue by fiscal yearFY2015: $4.0bnFY2016: $4.3bnFY2017: $5.3bnFY2018: $6.5bnFY2019: $6.7bnFY2020: $9.8bnFY2021: $16.4bnFY2022: $23.6bnFY2023: $22.7bnFY2024: $25.8bnFY2025: $34.6bnFY2015FY2025
Operating margin
10.7%
FY2025
Operating marginFY2015FY2025
Free cash flow
$6.7bn
FY2025
Free cash flow by fiscal yearFY2015: -$0.3bnFY2016: $0.0bnFY2017: -$0.1bnFY2018: -$0.1bnFY2019: $0.3bnFY2020: $0.8bnFY2021: $3.2bnFY2022: $3.1bnFY2023: $1.1bnFY2024: $2.4bnFY2025: $6.7bnFY2015FY2025
Net cash
$7.3bn
end of FY2025
Net cash by fiscal yearFY2015: -$1.5bnFY2016: -$0.2bnFY2017: -$0.2bnFY2018: -$0.1bnFY2019: $1.0bnFY2020: $2.0bnFY2021: $3.3bnFY2022: $3.4bnFY2023: $3.3bnFY2024: $3.4bnFY2025: $7.3bnFY2015FY2025

Where the cash goes

AMD has kept more of its cash than it handed back. From FY2015 to FY2025 it made $17.1bn ✓ of free cash flow and spent $8.6bn ✓ on buybacks. In FY2025, buybacks took just 20% ✓ of free cash flow. Net cash, meaning cash and investments minus borrowings (leases not counted), grew from -$1.5bn ✓ in FY2015 to $7.3bn ✓ in FY2025.

Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bnFY2016 free cash flow $0.0bnFY2016 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY16FY2017 free cash flow -$0.1bnFY2017 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY17FY2018 free cash flow -$0.1bnFY2018 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY18FY2019 free cash flow $0.3bnFY2019 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY19FY2020 free cash flow $0.8bnFY2020 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY20FY2021 free cash flow $3.2bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $1.8bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $3.1bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $3.7bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $1.1bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $1.0bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $2.4bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $0.9bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $6.7bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $1.3bnFY25
Free cash flow vs cash returned to shareholders$0bnFY2020 free cash flow $0.8bnFY2020 buybacks + dividends $0.0bnFY20FY2021 free cash flow $3.2bnFY2021 buybacks + dividends $1.8bnFY21FY2022 free cash flow $3.1bnFY2022 buybacks + dividends $3.7bnFY22FY2023 free cash flow $1.1bnFY2023 buybacks + dividends $1.0bnFY23FY2024 free cash flow $2.4bnFY2024 buybacks + dividends $0.9bnFY24FY2025 free cash flow $6.7bnFY2025 buybacks + dividends $1.3bnFY25
■ Free cash flow   ■ Buybacks + dividends. Source: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 10-K filings.

🧮Ratios 101: what are AMD's key financial ratios?

Ratios turn AMD's big numbers into easy comparisons, and a few look odd until you know it bought Xilinx with its own shares 6. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with AMD's real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.

💰 Profitability: how much of each sale is kept?

Higher is better

Gross margin

49.5%
Gross profit$17.2bn$34.6bnSales=49.5%

What is left from each sale after paying to make the product or deliver the service.

👉 At 49.5% ✓, up from 27.1% ✓ in FY2015, AMD trails the 61.6% ✓ peer median, as NVIDIA at 71.1% ✓ and Broadcom at 67.8% ✓ keep far more per sale.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 40% usually signals pricing power or a big software or services mix.

Peer median 61.6% (4 peers)FY2015 27.1%
Gross margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Operating margin

10.7%
Operating profit$3.7bn$34.6bnSales=10.7%

What is left after also paying for research, marketing and running the company.

👉 AMD's 10.7% ✓ is a big step up from -12.1% ✓ in FY2015, but well below the 33.9% ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 20% is strong for a large company.

Peer median 33.9% (4 peers)FY2015 -12.1%
Operating margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Net margin

12.5%
Net income$4.3bn$34.6bnSales=12.5%

The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of sales.

👉 AMD keeps 12.5% ✓ of sales as final profit, against -16.5% ✓ in FY2015 and a 24.4% ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.

Peer median 24.4% (4 peers)FY2015 -16.5%
Net margin by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
It depends

Return on equity (ROE)

6.9%
Net income$4.3bn$63.0bnShareholders' equity=6.9%

Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.

👉 ROE of 6.9% ✓ is low next to the 27.3% ✓ peer median. One reason is a big equity base of $63.0bn ✓; AMD paid for Xilinx with its own shares 6.

📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.

Peer median 27.3% (4 peers)FY2016 -104.4%
Return on equity (ROE) by fiscal yearFY2016FY2025

⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?

Higher is better

Return on assets (ROA)

5.6%
Net income$4.3bn$76.9bnTotal assets=5.6%

Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.

👉 ROA of 5.6% ✓ is less than half the 12.3% ✓ peer median, but far better than -21.4% ✓ in FY2015.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 10% is strong; banks and factories usually earn less.

Peer median 12.3% (4 peers)FY2015 -21.4%
Return on assets (ROA) by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Higher is better

Asset turnover

0.5x
Sales$34.6bn$76.9bnTotal assets=0.5x

Dollars of sales squeezed out of each dollar of assets.

👉 AMD's sales are 0.5x ✓ what it owns, down from 1.3x ✓ in FY2015 and just below the 0.6x ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Retailers often top 2x; asset-heavy businesses can sit below 0.5x.

Peer median 0.6x (4 peers)FY2015 1.3x
Asset turnover by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Lower is better

Inventory days

165 days
Inventory$7.9bn$17.5bnCost of sales× 365=165 days

How many days of products sit in warehouses before they are sold.

👉 AMD holds 165 ✓ days of stock, up from 85 ✓ in FY2015 and above the peer median of 122 ✓ days.

📏 Rule of thumb: Fewer days means less cash tied up and less risk of products going stale.

Peer median 122 days (4 peers)FY2015 85 days
Inventory days by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

🛟 Safety: could it survive a bad year?

It depends

Current ratio

2.9x
Current assets$26.9bn$9.5bnCurrent liabilities=2.9x

Can short-term assets (cash, money owed by customers, stock) pay the bills due within a year?

👉 At 2.9x ✓, AMD's short-term assets comfortably cover its bills due within a year, above the 2.4x ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 1.0x is the classic comfort line, but cash-rich giants can run below it on purpose.

Peer median 2.4x (4 peers)FY2015 1.7x
Current ratio by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Lower is better

Debt to equity

0.1x
Total debt$3.2bn$63.0bnShareholders' equity=0.1x

How much the company has borrowed for each dollar shareholders have in it.

👉 AMD's 0.1x ✓ is far below the 0.6x ✓ peer median and the 3.0x ✓ it carried in FY2016.

📏 Rule of thumb: Below 1.0x is conservative. Like ROE, it can rise when buybacks shrink equity, even if debt has not changed.

Peer median 0.6x (4 peers)FY2016 3.0x
Debt to equity by fiscal yearFY2016FY2025
Higher is better

Interest cover

28.2x
Operating profit$3.7bn$0.1bnInterest expense=28.2x

How many times over operating profit could pay the year's interest bill.

👉 Operating profit covers interest 28.2x ✓, above the 13.3x ✓ peer median; in FY2015 it was -3.0x ✓.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 5x is comfortable; below 2x is a warning sign.

Peer median 13.3x (4 peers)FY2015 -3.0x
Interest cover by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025

💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?

Higher is better

Cash conversion

1.6x
Free cash flow$6.7bn$4.3bnNet income=1.6x

Does reported profit turn into real cash? Free cash flow is operating cash minus capital spending.

👉 AMD turns profit into cash at 1.6x ✓, above the 1.2x ✓ peer median. Profit is cut by costs that use no cash, such as $1.6bn ✓ of stock pay.

📏 Rule of thumb: Near or above 1.0x means profits are backed by cash.

Peer median 1.2x (3 peers)FY2018 -0.4x
Cash conversion by fiscal yearFY2018FY2025
It depends

R&D intensity

23.4%
R&D$8.1bn$34.6bnSales=23.4%

How much of each sales dollar goes into inventing future products.

👉 AMD spends 23.4% ✓ of sales on R&D, about the same as 23.7% ✓ in FY2015 and above the 18.8% ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Tech companies often spend 10% to 20%; more is not always better if it does not pay off.

Peer median 18.8% (4 peers)FY2015 23.7%
R&D intensity by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
Lower is better

Stock pay

4.7%
Share-based pay$1.6bn$34.6bnSales=4.7%

Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.

👉 Stock pay is 4.7% ✓ of sales, below the 5.4% ✓ peer median but up from 1.6% ✓ in FY2015.

📏 Rule of thumb: Under 5% of sales is modest for a tech company.

Peer median 5.4% (4 peers)FY2015 1.6%
Stock pay by fiscal yearFY2015FY2025
It depends

Shareholder payout

30.4%
Dividends + buybacks$1.3bn$4.3bnNet income=30.4%

How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.

👉 AMD returned 30.4% ✓ of FY2025 profit to shareholders, all through buybacks, about half the 58.8% ✓ peer median.

📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.

Peer median 58.8% (3 peers)FY2018 0.0%
Shareholder payout by fiscal yearFY2018FY2025

Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.

🥊Who are AMD's competitors?

AMD competes on several fronts, because it sells PC, server, AI and embedded chips 2 2 2. AMD's 10-K calls NVIDIA the leader in stand-alone graphics chips, and the two fight over AI chips 1415. Intel is its x86 rival in PCs and servers 1617. Qualcomm and Broadcom come at it from new angles 1819 220.

Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%95%100%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Sales growth per year, 3 years →Operating margin →NVIDIA: revenue $215.9bn, growth 100.0%/yr, operating margin 60.4%NVDABroadcom: revenue $63.9bn, growth 24.4%/yr, operating margin 39.9%AVGOIntel: revenue $52.9bn, growth -5.7%/yr, operating margin -4.2%INTCQualcomm: revenue $44.3bn, growth 0.1%/yr, operating margin 27.9%QCOMAMD: revenue $34.6bn, growth 13.6%/yr, operating margin 10.7%AMD
Peer map: growth vs profitability, bubble size = revenue-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%95%100%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%Sales growth per year, 3 years →Operating margin →NVIDIA: revenue $215.9bn, growth 100.0%/yr, operating margin 60.4%NVDABroadcom: revenue $63.9bn, growth 24.4%/yr, operating margin 39.9%AVGOIntel: revenue $52.9bn, growth -5.7%/yr, operating margin -4.2%INTCQualcomm: revenue $44.3bn, growth 0.1%/yr, operating margin 27.9%QCOMAMD: revenue $34.6bn, growth 13.6%/yr, operating margin 10.7%AMD
Peer map from each company's latest 10-K. Bubble size = revenue. Source: SEC filings [7] [8] [9] [11] [12].
CompanyWhere they competeRevenueGrowth/yr (3y)Op. marginFCF margin
AMD (AMD, FY2025)PC, server and AI chips, console chips and FPGAs 2 2$34.6bn13.6%10.7%19.4%
NVIDIA (NVDA, FY2026)Data-center AI chips and PC graphics chips; AMD calls NVIDIA the market share leader in stand-alone (discrete) graphics chips 1415$215.9bn100.0%60.4%44.8%
Intel (INTC, FY2025)x86 processors for PCs and servers; each names the other as a main rival 1617$52.9bn-5.7%-4.2%-9.4%
Qualcomm (QCOM, FY2025)Arm-based Snapdragon X chips for AI PCs, plus embedded chips 1819$44.3bn0.1%27.9%28.9%
Broadcom (AVGO, FY2025)Custom AI chips built to each customer's design, plus Ethernet networking chips 220$63.9bn24.4%39.9%42.1%

Some of AMD's own customers are designing their own data-center chips, which could shrink the market open to AMD 16. Intel names Arm-based PC chips from Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek as rivals, alongside AMD 35. TSMC is not a rival, but it makes all of AMD's most advanced chips 24.

🧭AMD SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

💪 Strengths

  • AMD sells a wide range of data-center gear: server CPUs, AI chips and AI network cards 2, and now whole Helios racks 4.
  • OpenAI agreed to deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD AI chips, Meta up to 6 and Anthropic up to 2 23 3 26.
  • AMD chips run El Capitan and Frontier, the No. 2 and No. 3 supercomputers on the June 2026 list 21.
  • Net cash (cash and investments minus borrowings, leases not counted) of $9.9bn ✓ at 27 June 2026 gives AMD room to keep investing.

🩹 Weaknesses

  • More than 7.5 million developers use NVIDIA's CUDA and other software tools 28, and AMD says NVIDIA uses its own software, plus its size and money, to sway customers 22.
  • AMD relies on TSMC to make all its most advanced processor and GPU chips 24.
  • Operating margin was 10.7% ✓ in FY2025, far below the 33.9% ✓ peer median.
  • Gaming sales fell 31% in Q2 2026 as sales of console chips dropped 4.
  • Warrants given to OpenAI and Meta could each create up to 160 million new AMD shares 29.

🚀 Opportunities

  • The first MI450 chips for OpenAI and Meta are due in the second half of 2026 23 3. Oracle planned an AI cluster starting with 50,000 MI450 chips in Q3 2026 5.
  • Anthropic plans up to 2 gigawatts of AMD chips in Helios racks, starting in the first half of 2027 26.
  • AMD and the US Department of Energy announced two new supercomputers, Lux and Discovery 5.
  • AMD agreed in September 2026 to buy World Labs for about $8.2bn, paid in AMD shares 30.

⚠️ Threats

  • A US licence rule on AI chips for China led to about $800m of charges in Q2 2025, though AMD later reversed about $360m 22.
  • Some customers are designing their own data-center chips, which could shrink AMD's market 16.
  • AMD warns that Arm-based PC chips could win more buyers; Qualcomm already sells them as Snapdragon X Series chips 1819.
  • In September 2025 NVIDIA teamed up with and invested in Intel, which AMD says may bring more competition and price pressure 22.
  • AMD expects a small number of customers to keep making up a large part of its sales 29.
  • AMD has guaranteed up to $4.1bn of partners' data-center lease payments, for terms of up to 15 years 29.

🏰Does AMD have a moat?

Narrow moatAMD wins on product speed and big multi-year AI deals rather than lock-in, and NVIDIA's software is the main wall it must climb.
Brand 3/5
Why 3?

AMD sells its PC chips under the Ryzen and Ryzen AI names 2. Its chips run El Capitan and Frontier, the No. 2 and No. 3 supercomputers on the June 2026 list 21. But AMD lists brand as just one buying factor, next to speed, energy use, price and software 16.

Switching costs 3/5
Why 3?

AMD's PC and server chips run on x86, a design that Intel controls 22. Long deals tie some buyers in: OpenAI agreed to 6 gigawatts across several chip generations 23, and Meta has used AMD chips over several generations 3. AMD supports its AM5 desktop socket through 2029 4, and its custom chips sit inside PlayStation and Xbox consoles 2.

Network effects 2/5
Why 2?

In AI, the network effect works against AMD. AMD says NVIDIA uses its own software ecosystem to influence customers who also buy from AMD 22. AMD's answer is ROCm, open software for running AI on its chips 2.

Cost advantages and scale 3/5
Why 3?

Being fabless lets AMD use TSMC's most advanced factories without building its own 24. Outside firms in China, Malaysia and Taiwan assemble and test nearly all its products 24. But some big customers now design their own data-center chips, which could shrink AMD's market 16.

Intangibles (patents, licences, regulation) 3/5
Why 3?

AMD holds about 7,200 US patents and about 18,900 patent matters worldwide, but says no single patent is material 25. It relies on x86, which Intel controls, and partly on Microsoft to support its chips 22.

A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is AMD; grey dots are peers).

🔭What should you watch next?

3 Nov 2026

Q3 2026 results

AMD reports its third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on 3 November 2026 36. It guided to about $13bn of sales, plus or minus $300m 4. Figures on this page run to FY2025 and the four quarters to 27 June 2026.

Second half of 2026

First AI gigawatts for OpenAI and Meta

The first 1 gigawatt of MI450 chips for OpenAI is set to begin in the second half of 2026 23. Meta's first custom MI450-based chips are also due to ship 3. Oracle planned to start with 50,000 MI450 chips from Q3 2026 5.

Pending

World Labs deal

AMD agreed in September 2026 to buy World Labs for about $8.2bn, paid in AMD shares 30.

First half of 2027

Anthropic's first gigawatt

Anthropic plans up to 2 gigawatts of AMD chips in Helios racks, and AMD committed to invest up to $5bn in Anthropic later 26. The first gigawatt is due to start in the first half of 2027 26.

Ongoing

China export licences

US officials said in August 2025 they expect the government to get 15% of licensed MI308 sales to China, but no rule had been published by AMD's 10-K 22. In February 2026 AMD got some licences for MI325 chips, but they must be inspected in the US and face a 25% tariff 29.

Ongoing

OpenAI and Meta warrants

Each warrant covers up to 160 million AMD shares and vests in steps tied to chip purchases and other conditions 29. None had vested by 27 June 2026 29.

📚Learn the words

Revenue (sales)All the money a company takes in from customers before paying any costs.
FablessA chip company that designs chips but pays another company, called a foundry, to make them.
CPUThe main processor in a computer. It runs the operating system and most everyday tasks.
GPUA chip that does many small sums at once. It was built for graphics and is now the main chip for AI.
FPGAA chip that customers can rewire with software after it is made, so one chip can do many different jobs.
Gross marginThe share of each sales dollar left after paying to make the product. Higher means each sale is more profitable.
Operating profitProfit from the main business after paying for products, research, marketing and admin, but before interest and tax.
AmortisationAn accounting cost that spreads the price of things a company bought, such as another firm's patents, over several years. No cash leaves when it is booked.
Free cash flowThe cash a business has left after running itself and buying equipment. It can be used for buybacks, deals or saving.
Fiscal yearA company's own 12-month accounting year. AMD's ends on the last Saturday of December, so FY2025 ended on 27 December 2025.
Economic moatA lasting advantage, like a strong brand or high switching costs, that keeps rivals from taking a company's customers.
RatioOne number divided by another, such as profit divided by sales. Ratios let you compare companies of very different sizes.

❓Frequently asked questions about AMD

How does AMD make money?

AMD makes money by selling chips, mostly for data centers and PCs. In FY2025, Data Center brought in $16.6bn ✓ and Client and Gaming $14.6bn ✓. Embedded chips for machines made up the rest.

Does AMD make its own chips?

No, AMD designs chips but does not own chip factories 24. TSMC makes all its advanced processor and GPU chips 24, and outside firms in China, Malaysia and Taiwan assemble and test nearly all of them 24.

What is AMD Instinct?

Instinct is AMD's family of AI chips for data centers and supercomputers 21. MI450-series chips power AMD's big deals with OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic 23 3 26.

What is the AMD and OpenAI deal?

OpenAI agreed in October 2025 to deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD AI chips over several product generations 23. The first 1 gigawatt of MI450 chips is set to begin in the second half of 2026 23. AMD gave OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million shares that vests only as purchases and other milestones are met 29.

Is AMD's revenue growing?

Yes, AMD's revenue is growing fast. Sales rose 34.3% ✓ in FY2025 and 39.5% ✓ in the four quarters to June 2026. Over ten years, growth averaged 24.1% ✓ a year. In Q2 2026 alone, sales rose 50% 4.

What happened with ZT Systems?

AMD bought ZT Systems in March 2025, kept its teams that design whole AI racks, and sold its factory business to Sanmina in October 2025 1032.

Who runs AMD?

Lisa Su runs AMD. She has been CEO since October 2014 and chair since February 2022 33.

What is ROCm?

ROCm is AMD's open software for running AI training and inference on its chips 2. AMD sells its Instinct chips with ROCm against NVIDIA's chips 1415, and more than 7.5 million developers use NVIDIA's CUDA and other tools 28.

🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself

Higher or lower · round 1 of 6

Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [7] [8] [9] [11] [12].

Score: 0

🧠 Test yourself

5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5

1. Who makes AMD's most advanced chips?

AMD does not own chip factories, and TSMC makes all its advanced processor and GPU chips 24.

2. Which AMD business brought in the most sales in FY2025?

Data Center made up 48% ✓ of AMD's sales in FY2025.

3. Which game consoles run on AMD chips?

AMD's custom chips power Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series S and X 2.

4. Which of these supercomputers runs on AMD chips?

On the June 2026 TOP500 list, El Capitan ranked No. 2 and Frontier No. 3, and both run on AMD chips 21.

5. Which FPGA maker did AMD buy with its own shares?

AMD completed its all-stock purchase of Xilinx, a maker of FPGAs, in February 2022 6.

🔎Sources and method

Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.

  1. AMD (AMD) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-02-04 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
  2. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 1 Business: segments, products and customers (accessed 2026-10-29)
  3. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: AMD and Meta announce expanded strategic partnership to deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, 2026-02-24 — Meta up to 6 GW of Instinct GPUs; custom MI450-based GPU; EPYC history at Meta (accessed 2026-10-29)
  4. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: second quarter 2026 results, 2026-08-04 — Q2 2026 segment results, Helios and MI400 launches, AM5 support, Q3 2026 outlook (accessed 2026-10-29)
  5. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: third quarter 2025 results, 2025-11-04 — Oracle OCI MI450 supercluster from Q3 2026; US Department of Energy supercomputers (accessed 2026-10-29)
  6. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: AMD completes acquisition of Xilinx, 2022-02-14 — Xilinx all-stock acquisition completed; FPGAs and adaptive SoCs (accessed 2026-10-29)
  7. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: AMD (AMD) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  8. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: NVIDIA CORP (NVDA) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  9. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: INTEL CORP (INTC) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  10. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 7 MD&A: ZT Systems, All Other operating loss, international sales (accessed 2026-10-29)
  11. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: QUALCOMM INC/DE (QCOM) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  12. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  13. AMD 8-K: closing of $4.75bn senior notes offering, filed 2026-08-17 — Senior notes due 2029, 2031, 2033 and 2036 (accessed 2026-10-29)
  14. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026, Item 1 Business: Competition, Manufacturing, Patents, Human Capital — Named competitors, principal competitive factors, foundries and memory suppliers, patent expiry dates, employees (accessed 2026-10-29)
  15. AMD Form 10-K FY2025 (year to 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04, Item 1 Business: Competition and products — AMD names Nvidia as a main Data Center and discrete graphics competitor; Instinct MI350 GPUs; ROCm (accessed 2026-10-29)
  16. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 1 Business: competition by segment and competitive factors (accessed 2026-10-29)
  17. Intel Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-01-23 — Item 1 Business: competition in client and data center processors (accessed 2026-10-29)
  18. AMD Form 10-K FY2025 (FYE 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04: Competition — Names Qualcomm among embedded-chip competitors; Arm-based PC chips could gain adoption (accessed 2026-10-29)
  19. Qualcomm Form 10-K FY2025 (FYE 2025-09-28), filed 2025-11-05: Item 1 Business — Incorporation, fiscal year, segments (QCT, QTL, QSI, QGOV, Data Center), products, fabless model, foundries, licensing model, customers of 10% or more, workforce, executive officers (accessed 2026-10-29)
  20. Broadcom Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-11-02), filed 2025-12-18 — Item 1 Business: AI semiconductor solutions (custom accelerators or XPUs, Ethernet switching, NICs) (accessed 2026-10-29)
  21. TOP500 list, June 2026 — El Capitan No. 2 and Frontier No. 3, both with AMD EPYC CPUs and Instinct accelerators (accessed 2026-10-29)
  22. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 1A Risk factors: export controls on MI308, Nvidia software ecosystem, x86 controlled by Intel (accessed 2026-10-29)
  23. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: AMD and OpenAI announce strategic partnership to deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs, 2025-10-06 — OpenAI 6 GW agreement; first 1 GW of MI450 from 2H 2026 (accessed 2026-10-29)
  24. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 1 Business: wafer foundries, assembly and test (accessed 2026-10-29)
  25. AMD Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (ended 2025-12-27), filed 2026-02-04 — Item 1 Business: incorporation, headquarters, fiscal year, employees, patents (accessed 2026-10-29)
  26. AMD newsroom: AMD and Anthropic announce strategic partnership to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD Instinct MI450 Series GPUs, 2026-07-22 — Anthropic up to 2 GW in Helios racks, first GW from 1H 2027; AMD equity investment commitment (accessed 2026-10-29)
  27. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: AMD (AMD) — balance sheet at 2026-06-27 (accessed 2026-10-28)
  28. NVIDIA Form 10-K FY2026 (year to 2026-01-25), filed 2026-02-25, Item 1 Business — Headquarters, incorporation, four markets and their products and customers, CUDA platform and developers, R&D since inception, GPU (1999) and CUDA (2006) (accessed 2026-10-29)
  29. AMD Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 2026-06-27, filed 2026-08-05 — OpenAI and Meta warrants, lease guarantees, MI325 China licences, customer concentration (accessed 2026-10-29)
  30. AMD 8-K Item 3.02: agreement to acquire World Labs, filed 2026-09-28 — World Labs acquisition agreement, about $8.2bn paid in AMD stock (accessed 2026-10-29)
  31. SEC EDGAR companyfacts: AMD (AMD) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
  32. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: AMD completes sale of ZT Systems manufacturing business to Sanmina, 2025-10-27 — AMD keeps ZT rack-scale design and customer enablement teams (accessed 2026-10-29)
  33. AMD DEF 14A proxy statement for the 2026 annual meeting, filed 2026-03-27 — Lisa Su: CEO since 2014, Chair since 2022 (accessed 2026-10-29)
  34. AMD 8-K Exhibit 99.1: fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, 2026-02-03 — FY2025 record revenue; HUMAIN joint venture plan (accessed 2026-10-29)
  35. Intel 10-K for fiscal 2025 (Business: CCG overview and competition) — Client Computing Group products, customers and competitors (accessed 2026-10-29)
  36. AMD investor relations: AMD to report fiscal third quarter 2026 financial results, 2026-10-06 — Q3 2026 results date (accessed 2026-10-29)