Mr. Barton: AMD was founded in 1969. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and employs approximately 13,600 people worldwide. AMD became a publicly held company in 1972 and since 1979 has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the trading symbol of AMD for its common shares. In 1999, AMD had revenues of 2.9 billion. In the first quarter of 2000, AMD reported sales of 1.09 billion. The company's purpose is to empower people everywhere to lead more productive lives. Integrated circuits from AMD enable manufacturers of personal and networked computation and communications systems to offer products that allow users to access, process, and communicate information at ever-greater speeds and ever-lower costs. AMD principally produces microprocessors, flash memory devices, and support circuitry for personal and networked computation and communications applications. The company has sales offices worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Sunnyvale, California; Austin, Texas; Dresden, Germany; Aizu- Wakamatsu, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Penang, Malaysia; Singapore; and Suzhou, China.
TWST: What do you believe will be the significant trends, developments
or changes in your sector of the market over the next several years?
Mr. Barton: AMD focuses on two principal segments of the worldwide
semiconductor market: microprocessors for Microsoft Windows compatible
computing and flash memory devices. These two sectors are, respectively,
the largest and the fastest-growing major segments of the semiconductor
market. The most significant new trend in the PC processor segment is
the return of a more competitive environment to a market dominated by
Intel. Today, AMD is the world's second-largest supplier of PC
processors and the only real alternative to an Intel monopoly on the
most critical component of personal computers. The AMD Athlon_ processor
' first introduced in mid-1999 ' is the industry's first true seventh-
generation PC processor. Today, nine of the world's top 10 PC
manufacturers offer systems based on the AMD Athlon processor. On March
6, AMD introduced the industry's first 1-gigahertz PC processor ' a
processor operating at one billion clock cycles per second. In June, AMD
introduced its AMD Duron_ processor family targeted at the value segment
of the PC market. With the AMD Athlon, AMD Duron, and AMD-K6 processor
families, AMD has the industry's broadest range of high-performance PC
processors and a product road map that we believe will enable AMD to
penetrate market segments currently dominated by Intel. The Internet and
mobile communications are driving demand for flash memory products.
Worldwide demand continues to exceed capacity. Worldwide consumption of
flash memory products, measured in total bits consumed, has
approximately doubled each year since 1994 and we expect similar growth
in demand for the next several years. Our current challenge is to add
capacity rapidly enough to support our key customers. We expect to
increase capacity by 100% on average each year through 2002. We have
entered into multi-year agreements with dozens of strategic customers,
guaranteeing volumes and pricing. The principal drivers of growth in the
markets served by AMD are cellular telephones, Internet infrastructure
equipment, automotive applications, and set-top boxes. With the
industry's broadest product line, excellent customer relationships, and
features that provide a competitive edge to our customers, flash memory
products currently generate significant profits for AMD.
Tickers included in this excerpt: AMD
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