Zen是AMD翻盘的最后机会？

AMD is on the hook for about $160 million of interest payments annually, and the company has been burning through cash in recent years.During the past twelve months, AMD's free cash flow was a loss of $187 million, but with $829 million of cash remaining, AMD should be able to fund itself through 2019, even if things don't get any better.

But things need to get better. If Zen fails to revitalize AMD's PC and server businesses, the company will be in much worse shape financially by the time 2019 rolls around. AMD would likely need to raise additional debt in order to fund its operations, something that may not even be possible if its finances have deteriorated. And refinancing maturing debt could lead to even higher interest payments, making any sort of recovery even more difficult.

It looks like AMD is making the right choices with Zen, focusing on the area where Bulldozer was weak. With Intel essentially having a monopoly in the server-chip market, along with incredible margins, Zen should be able to win some market share as long as its performance is in the ballpark of Intel's server chips, something that Bulldozer was unable to accomplish. But if Zen ends up being a flop, AMD's chances of survival will be seriously reduced.