AMD暂时安全？

AMD第三季度营收取得较大突破但亏损依然严重；第四季度的指导营收低于业内预期；企业急需大量现金流注入。

上周四，AMD公司公布了第三季度财报，以好于预期的营收数字和下降的库存给出了一个大大的惊喜。第四季度指导营收不理想且该公司还在持续烧钱。幸运的是AMD宣布将与一家中国公司创立合资公司从而将为AMD注入大批现金。但AMD的前景目前尚不明朗，最新的一些消息确实显示该公司在尝试做出转变。

Summary

Q3 results mixed with big revenue beat but large loss. Q4 revenue guidance well below expectations. Joint venture supplies much needed cash infusion.

On Thursday, semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) reported its third-quarter results. While AMD surprised with a much better than expected revenue number, an inventory write-down resulted in a larger than expected loss. Q4 revenue guidance was poor and the company continued to burn through cash. Fortunately, the firm also announced a joint venture with a Chinese company that will give AMD a nice chunk of cash. While the future of AMD doesn't appear bright at the moment, the latest set of news does give the company more time to attempt a turnaround.

AMD announced Q3 revenues of $1.062 billion, 12.6% sequential growth, beating its own guidance and analyst estimates. The company recorded a $65 million inventory write-down, resulting in a non-GAAP per share loss of $0.17, a nickel worse than estimates. For Q4, guidance was for a sequential revenue decline of 10%, implying $956 million, well below estimates. AMD finished Q3 with $755 million in cash, down $74 million sequentially. It could have been worse, as there were many positive adjustments to operating cash flow, given a net loss of $197 million. Management on the conference call stated that the Q4 ending cash balance should be roughly flat compared to Q3. Debt stands at $2.26 billion.

The good news is that the semiconductor assembly and test joint venture will bring in $320 million in cash to AMD, with the company holding a 15% stake in the deal. Management stated that the deal will have a limited impact on the income statement, as the main benefit will be reduced capital expenditures. This will give AMD some financial flexibility, as 2016 contains the important launch of the Zen CPU Core. For those that believe bankruptcy was coming, that timeline has to be pushed out at least a year thanks to this cash infusion.

In my opinion, the focus now shifts to three items, with Zen obviously being a key to AMD's future. AMD needs to slow its revenue declines if it wishes to be competitive. The second item is restructuring, as the company looks to improve its cost structure and hopefully reduce some of these massive losses that are being racked up. Restructuring plans announced to date are not enough to get the company to profitability, so I wouldn't be surprised to see more job cuts on the horizon.

The final item is finding ways to get more cash. On the conference call, the idea of monetizing patents was discussed and this probably would be the next step for AMD in trying to shore up its balance sheet. The company recently failed in an attempt to lure some private equity capital, but the joint venture will certainly help. AMD has a long way to go, however, as the company still has three times as much debt as it has cash. If AMD could bring in a few hundred million more in cash, perhaps it could refinance some of its debt and reduce future interest expenses.

AMD has over $2 billion of debt with stated interest rates of 6.75% or more. While none of the company's main issues are due until 2019 at