AMD Tops Intel in Supplying PCs
By DON CLARK
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 8, 2005; Page B4
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. last month surpassed Intel Corp. in supplying chips for personal computers sold in U.S. retail stores, a market-research company is slated to report today.
The company, Current Analysis, says it expects Intel may take back the lead in November. Retail stores, moreover, represent a narrow slice of the PC market, excluding major manufacturers such as Dell Inc., which use only Intel chips.
Nevertheless, the results are a sign that the underdog chip maker has become a fixture in the consumer PC market. Matt Sargent, Current Analysis's research director, said AMD's success could cause some suppliers to corporations, which almost exclusively use Intel-based PCs, to consider buying from AMD. "AMD is marginalized in the corporate arena," Mr. Sargent said. "If you look at spaces where AMD is allowed to compete with Intel, they can compete and surpass them."
AMD has been strongest in desktop computers, and moved past Intel in retail sales of those products in September, Current Analysis says. Intel dominates the faster-growing market for laptops, aided by a heavily promoted brand for a combination of chips called Centrino. But AMD has boosted its share of that retail niche, which stood at less than 20% in June, to 31.5% in October, Current Analysis found.
Combined with AMD's 67.7% share of retail desktop-computer sales, AMD's share of combined desktop and laptop machines in October came to 49.8%, compared with 48.5% for Intel.
Chuck Mulloy, an Intel spokesman, characterized the report as part of the "natural ebb and flow of the retail market." Because that market excludes major direct sellers, the latest data "doesn't accurately reflect what is happening at the consumer level or the end-user market overall," he said.
Stephen DiFranco, an AMD vice president in charge of its consumer sales channel, said that stores have become a more important place for consumers to try out the latest technology.
Mr. Sargent predicted that Intel and its customers will come back "very, very strongly" this month.
Current Analysis gathers data from five major store chains, which it estimates account for 60% to 70% of U.S. retail computer sales. The figures don't include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., but the big U.S. retailer is a heavy user of AMD-based computers, said Sam Bhavnani, a Current Analysis analyst. Wal-Mart could add further demand by releasing rumored $398 laptop and desktop systems based on AMD technology the day after Thanksgiving, Mr. Bhavnani said. A Wal-Mart spokesman declined to comment.
Write to Don Clark at
don.clark@wsj.com
AMD Tops Intel in Supplying PCs
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