AMD Now Close to Lows of the Recession

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is in trouble. Many of the issues hurting the company are known but Wall St. and Main Street are both having more than a difficult time quantifying the damage here. A weak PC market, a weakening economy, a move into smartphones and tablets by Joe Public and on and on. AMD is even without real leadership at the moment.

So, is it fair to ask what the company can really do here?

AMD has tried and tried to do many things. Nothing works for it. This time around it will not even be able to claim that Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is trying to force PC-makers to not use the AMD processors. Intel is in the soup as well, and it has not caught up to the trends of tablets and smartphones yet.

AMD’s move to a fab-lite production model has only hurt the company in being able to adapt to a changing market. The company recently announced that it would guts payrolls by another 1,800 workers as well.

As noted above, investors just refuse to endorse AMD in any aspect. It is not just such a bad situation that AMD is hitting a 52-week low today. At $2.16, its prior 52-week range was $2.17 to $8.35. Now AMD shares are at risk of challenging the lows not seen since the dog days of the Great Recession. In late 2008 and early 2009 when the markets were in freefall, AMD’s monthly lows were $1.62, $1.86 and $1.92.

AMD is becoming increasingly such a troubled company that its future is less certain each day.

JON C. OGG