AMD to Launch 7nm Navi GPU and EPYC Rome CPU in Third Quarter, Stock Rises

(Image credit: AMD)

AMD held its Q1 2019 earnings call on the eve of its 50th anniversary, reporting mixed, yet stronger-than-anticipated results. AMD CEO Lisa Su began the earnings call with news that the company will introduce its 7nm Navi graphics cards in the third quarter. AMD will also begin to ship its 7nm EPYC Rome processors in the second quarter, with the volume launch expected in the third quarter.

Su also revealed that its first graphics card bearing the 7nm Navi architecture is geared for "below where the Radeon VII is positioned from a pricing standpoint." Given the lower price point, it's safe to assume that the initial 7nm Navi GPU will not be a flagship-class product, instead catering to the larger volume in the mid-range segment. As with all graphics architectures, we expect several different cards to emerge to satisfy different segments. Su also did not reveal if the card will support hardware-accelerated ray tracing but said the company would provide updates as the card comes closer to market.

AMD doubled its Ryzen and EPYC sales year-over-year (YoY), helping to offset lower graphics and semi-custom revenue. Revenue declined 10% on a quarterly basis, which AMD attributes to lower client processor sales. In either case, the company claimed it gained desktop PC market share for the sixth consecutive quarter, but didn't provide specifics.

Su also reiterated the company's projections that it will attain a double-digit share of the server market during the second half of this year.

Overall, AMD reported $1.27 billion in revenue for the quarter, slightly beating analyst expectations, but representing a 27% YoY decline. AMD's gross margins increased 5% to 41%, and the company netted $16 million during the quarter. These solid results come as the company is on the cusp of launching its new 7nm products in the latter half of the year, which explains the company's bullish $1.52 billion prediction for the second quarter.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Radeon Vega graphics shipments also grew by a "strong double-digit" percentage YoY and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). AMD's data center GPU revenue also doubled YoY, which helped increase AMD's graphics average selling price (ASP) year-over-year. The company also reiterated that the PlayStation 5 would use a Zen 2 processor paired with the Navi graphics engine.

Notably, AMD's cash reserves reached the highest levels since the second quarter of 2017 while the company continued to reduce its debt load. That positions the company well for its pending launch of new 7nm products that will span both consumer and data center segments, with Ryzen 3000-series CPUs and Navi GPUs attacking the former, while EPYC Rome processors attack the latter. We expect to learn more details about AMD's Ryzen 3000-series processors and Navi GPUs at Computex in May. 

Paul Alcorn
Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech

Paul Alcorn is the Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech for Tom's Hardware US. He also writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage, and enterprise hardware.

  • NightHawkRMX
    Cool
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    I said Navi would be available en-masse October in time for x-mas season. 3rd quarter ends Sept 30. So looks like I was right. Exact launch will depend on Ryzen ZEN 2 demand. Higher demand means a couple extra weeks production for Ryzen ZEN 2 before Navi starts. Good times for AMD. Congrats to them.
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    I really agree. Go Team Red!
    Although I also hope both Intel and Nvidia fire back for some healthy competition.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    digitalgriffin said:
    Exact launch will depend on Ryzen 2 demand.
    Ryzen 2 is already out on Zen+ architecture, Ryzen 3 is what is coming and based on the Zen 2 architecture.

    AMD should have seen that bit of market confusion coming for naming the two so similarly.
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    InvalidError said:
    Ryzen 2 is already out on Zen+ architecture, Ryzen 3 is what is coming and based on the Zen 2 architecture.

    AMD should have seen that bit of market confusion coming for naming the two so similarly.

    Quite right. I typo'd. I need to proof my stuff better before I post. I went back and edited it for the correct names so people don't get confused.
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    Quite confusing for new cpu buyers.
    AMD shouldn't have done this:
    Zen 2 is Ryzen 3000
    Zen+ is Ryzen 2000.
    Reply
  • Murissokah
    Just thought I should take a moment to acknowledge the amazing work done by Lisa Su and her team. What an incredible recovery!
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    Seriously. Back in the old days (2013) i loved intel and all of my x86 devices used Intel cpus. I thought of AMD as low end and crappy. I wasnt really wrong then since they were pumping out pile driver and buldozer FX cpus with major architecture level issues. At this point in time Intels comparable was better in nearly every respect.
    Fast foward to 2019:
    Now my gaming pc is powered by AMD ryzen since it creamed intel at the price i was looking at and i plan on upgrading to ryzen 3000 if it lives up to the hype.
    Good job AMD and whoever came up with the zen architecture. Ryzen is a pretty stupid name tho 😜
    Reply