AMD shares took a major hit on Wednesday, plunging 13% after the company released a financial forecast that left Wall Street feeling cold. While the stock market panicked, CEO Lisa Su did her best to calm the waters, insisting that the demand for artificial intelligence is actually exploding faster than anyone expected.
During an interview, Su spoke from her “inside” perspective, claiming that the AI boom is accelerating at a pace she never imagined just a few months ago. She noted that business is “going gangbusters” in their data center division as companies desperately try to increase their computing power for new AI projects.
The trouble started on Tuesday when AMD released its latest financial report. While the company actually beat expectations for the final months of last year, its prediction for the immediate future wasn’t bold enough for many investors. AMD expects to bring in about $9.8 billion in revenue for the first quarter of the year. Even though that number is technically higher than what analysts originally guessed, it wasn’t enough to satisfy a market that has become used to massive, record-breaking growth.
This high bar for success exists because AMD signed a wave of huge deals late last year, including major partnerships with OpenAI and Oracle. Because these tech giants are pouring billions into AI infrastructure, investors expected AMD to show even more explosive sales right now.
Su, however, is asking for a bit of patience. She pointed to a major “inflection point” coming in the second half of the year. That is when AMD will finally start shipping “Helios,” its brand-new, large-scale AI server system. She assured everyone that the project remains right on track and will help meet the skyrocketing need for AI hardware.
In short, the market and the CEO are looking at two different things. Investors are worried about the immediate quarterly numbers, but Su is betting that the massive, long-term hunger for AI chips will eventually prove the doubters wrong and drive the company even higher.
