Pursuing profit
If you ever worry that you're getting too intellectually cocky and complacent, then we recommend you try to get your head around AMD's accounts. Once you get the hang of them, they're fine, but the mish-mash of GAAP and non-GAAP, combined with trying to work out how it accounts for GlobalFoundries can leave you feeling like you're going mad.
The long and short of it is that AMD itself managed a 40 percent year-on-year revenue increase to $1.65 billion, which equated to a profit, yes profit, of $83 million. But then you have to account for a bunch of GlobalFoundries-related losses amounting to $126 million, leaving AMD with a net loss of $43 million.
"Robust demand for our latest mobile platforms and solid execution drove record second quarter revenue and a healthy gross margin," said Dirk Meyer, AMD President and CEO. "Our unmatched combination of microprocessor and graphics capabilities resulted in customers launching a record number of new mobile and desktop platforms. We added Sony as a microprocessor customer and continue to see our existing customers expand their AMD-based platform offerings."
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson also registered a profit, having done so in Q1 for the first time in nearly two years. It sold less units than a year ago, but for more money, and managed a net income of €12 million, even allowing for €32 million in restructuring charges.
"Our second quarter results show that the company continued the momentum seen in the first quarter as a result of our focus on the value market and the success of new smartphones; Xperia X10 and Vivaz, launched during the first quarter," said Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson president. "These models, along with the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro which started shipping at the end of the second quarter, have been well received by operators and we are now well positioned for long term growth."
Of course we expect Google to make a profit, and it did so while falling slightly short of expectations. Its net income of $1.84 billion is nearly 20 percent up on a year ago. Its revenues were up 24 percent on a year ago. Incidentally, the UK accounts for 11 percent of all Google's revenue, down from 13 percent a year ago.
"We saw strength in every major product area, as more and more traditional brand advertisers embraced search advertising and as large advertisers increasingly ran integrated campaigns across search, display, and mobile," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "We feel confident about our future, and plan to continue to invest aggressively in our core areas of strategic focus."
