AMD's Lisa Su addresses guidance concerns, says demand still accelerating for advanced chips

Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), recently addressed concerns regarding the company's forecast during an interview with CNBC. Despite a turbulent market reaction that saw shares plummet by 13%, Su emphasized a significant increase in demand for AMD's products over the past few months. In her discussion on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Su remarked on the unprecedented acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, stating, "AI is accelerating at a pace that I would not have imagined." She noted that the demand for AMD's chips continues to surpass the growing computational requirements of various businesses. AMD's datacenter segment, in particular, has experienced remarkable growth, moving from the fourth quarter into the first quarter. Su described the demand for their central processing units as "going gangbusters," highlighting the rapid expansion of AI enterprise applications. The company's fourth-quarter performance exceeded Wall Street expectations, but its outlook raised eyebrows among analysts, who anticipated a more robust projection. AMD forecasts first-quarter revenues of approximately $9.8 billion, with a potential variance of $300 million. This figure surpasses the expectations set at $9.38 billion, yet some analysts had hoped for even stronger guidance, especially in light of increased investments in AI and substantial data center expansions. Su acknowledged that AMD faces high expectations following a series of significant partnerships announced in the previous quarter, including collaborations with OpenAI and Oracle. As businesses continue to invest heavily in infrastructure to support AI advancements, Su believes AMD is approaching a pivotal moment. She announced that the company is poised to start shipping its innovative integrated server-scale AI system, Helios, in the second half of the year, marking a critical step forward for AMD.