AMD Beats Estimates With Record $13.4 Billion Quarter as Data Center Sales Nearly Double

Advanced Micro Devices beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, November 3, reporting record third quarter revenue of $13.4 billion as data center sales nearly doubled from a year earlier. The results came after the US market close and pushed the shares up about 7 percent in after hours trading, according to Barron's.

Revenue rose 45 percent year over year to $13.377 billion for the quarter ended September 26, 2026, above the high end of the company's own guidance and above the $13.1 billion consensus reported by FactSet. Non-GAAP earnings were $2.09 a share, up 74 percent from a year earlier and ahead of the $1.95 consensus. On a GAAP basis, AMD earned $1.46 a share on net income of $2.4 billion. Non-GAAP gross margin was 56 percent, while GAAP gross margin was 54 percent.

Data center carries the quarter

Data Center segment revenue was a record $8.5 billion, up 97 percent year over year. AMD said the growth was driven by strong demand for its EPYC processors and the launch of its Instinct MI450 Series GPUs. The Wall Street Journal reported that data center sales rose to 64 percent of total revenue, up from 47 percent a year ago, a sign of how far the company has shifted toward AI infrastructure.

"We delivered a record quarter with revenue exceeding the high end of our guidance as Data Center segment sales nearly doubled year-over-year," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD chair and CEO, in the company's release. She said demand for Instinct and EPYC products continued to strengthen and that growth should accelerate in the fourth quarter as the company scales Helios and Venice production.

Chief financial officer Jean Hu said third quarter revenue grew 45 percent to a record $13.4 billion while non-GAAP earnings per share grew 74 percent, showing the operating leverage in the business as the Data Center unit drives scale.

The rest of the business

Client and Gaming segment revenue was $3.7 billion, down 8 percent year over year. Client revenue was $2.9 billion, up 7 percent, driven by sales of Ryzen mobile processors. Gaming revenue was $773 million, down 40 percent, on lower semi-custom and graphics sales. Embedded segment revenue was $1.1 billion, up 29 percent, led by aerospace and defense, automotive, communications and industrial markets.

The Journal noted that GAAP results included an accounting charge of about $1.1 billion tied to the company's deal last year with OpenAI, mostly offset by an income tax benefit. That charge helps explain the gap between GAAP earnings of $1.46 a share and non-GAAP earnings of $2.09 a share.

A much bigger fourth quarter guide

For the fourth quarter of 2026, AMD expects revenue of about $17 billion, plus or minus 3 percent. The midpoint implies growth of about 66 percent year over year and a sequential increase of about 27 percent. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be about 55 percent. Barron's reported that analysts had expected about $16.3 billion in fourth quarter revenue, so the guide came in well ahead of the Street.

AMD held its earnings call at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 3. The stock had fallen sharply in the week before the report on doubts about the durability of AI spending, and the after hours gain to about $517 a share recovered part of that slide.