AMD reported record $13.4B Q3 revenue on Nov. 3 as data center rose 97%. Gaming fell 40%, and AMD guided Q4 to about $17B.
AMD reported record third-quarter revenue of $13.4 billion on Tuesday, Nov. 3, up 45% from a year earlier, as data center sales nearly doubled. The chip maker's own release puts data center revenue at $8.5 billion, up 97%. Its gaming business went the other direction, falling 40% to $773 million. Shares were up about 8% in extended trading, CNBC reported.
How much did AMD make in Q3 2026?
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 26 was $13.377 billion, versus $9.246 billion a year ago and $11.536 billion in the second quarter. On a GAAP basis, AMD reported a 54% gross margin, $2.8 billion in operating income, $2.4 billion in net income and earnings of $1.46 per share. Adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings were $2.09 per share, up 74%. CNBC says analysts polled by LSEG had expected $1.95 per share on $13.09 billion in revenue, so AMD beat both.
By segment, according to AMD:
- Data Center: a record $8.5 billion, up 97%, on EPYC server processors and the launch of Instinct MI450 Series GPUs.
- Client: $2.9 billion, up 7%, driven by Ryzen mobile processors.
- Gaming: $773 million, down 40%, on lower semi-custom and graphics revenue.
- Embedded: $1.1 billion, up 29%.
CNBC adds that data center now makes up about 64% of AMD's revenue, up from 47% a year ago. CEO Lisa Su called the quarter "the largest and most profitable in our history."
What does AMD expect for the fourth quarter?
AMD guided to about $17 billion in revenue for the December quarter, against a $16.2 billion average analyst estimate, according to CNBC. It expects a gross margin of about 55%, slightly under the 55.3% analysts were looking for. Su said on the earnings call that she expects server revenue to double in 2027 and data center AI growth to come in faster than AMD projected 90 days ago, CNBC reported.
AMD says Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure are running workloads on its first Helios rack-scale systems, which use the MI450 GPUs. The company also announced agreements to acquire World Labs and Taalas, though its release gives no price for either deal.
Why did AMD's gaming revenue fall 40%, and what does it mean for PC buyers?
AMD's explanation is short: lower semi-custom and graphics revenue. Semi-custom is the category that covers chips built for other companies' products, including game consoles. AMD's release does not say how much of the drop came from consoles and how much from Radeon cards, so that split is unconfirmed.
The wider PC market is soft. CNBC cites Counterpoint Research figures showing global PC shipments fell 4% in the second quarter from a year earlier, which it ties to soaring memory and other component costs. Intel blamed the same weakness for a poor outlook last week, CNBC notes, and its stock fell 29% on Friday. AMD's client business still grew 7%, helped by Ryzen laptops.
Our take: gaming was under 6% of AMD's revenue this quarter, which says a lot about where the company's attention is heading. The big swings in AMD's results now come from server chips and AI racks, not from products sold at Best Buy. If you are shopping for a graphics card or a handheld this holiday season, nothing in this report points to a price cut. That is our reading, not something AMD said, and the company gave no consumer pricing guidance.
Related reading
Picture credit: AMD
