Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) has just scored on its earnings report. Unfortunately, no one is around to know about as this report was after the closing bell ahead of a three-day weekend in Europe and North and South America. All posturing aside, this is one of the better technology reports from a long-term turnaround.

AMD reported that revenue rose 28% from a year ago to $1.40 billion in its first quarter. This may be down 12% sequentially, but that is from the important holiday quarter and after the debut quarter of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 video game console upgrades. Thomson Reuters was calling for revenue to be only $1.34 billion.

While AMD’s net loss of $20 million after all items was a loss of $0.03 per share, the adjusted figure that analysts will use is a positive net income of $12 million with non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.02. Thomson Reuters was calling for only breakeven on the adjusted number, so AMD beat on this metric as well. AMD’s loss on an adjusted basis a year ago was -$0.13 per share.

As far as guidance, AMD’s outlook for the second quarter of 2014 is for sequential revenue growth to be 3% (with a plus or minus 3 percent variable. That puts the baseline at $1.442 billion, and gives a range of $1.40 billion to $1.484 billion. Thomson Reuters is calling for only $1.36 billion, and the highest estimate is $1.49 billion.

ALSO READ: Why AMD Was Listed As One of Nine Stocks That Could Double in 2014

AMD said that its gross margin was 35 percent in the first quarter, sequentially unchanged.

AMD’s cash and cash equivalents were $982 million at the end of the quarter, which AMD called as being close to the optimal balance of $1 billion and well above the target minimum of $600 million. The company also confirmed that it made the final $200 million cash payment to GLOBALFOUNDRIES related to the reduction of the “take or pay” wafer obligation commitments for 2012. AMD’s total debt, long-term and short-term, at the end of the quarter was $2.14 billion, up from $2.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013.

President and CEO Rory Read’s quote was as follows:

AMD continued our momentum by building on the solid foundation we set in the second half of 2013, further transforming the company. Backed by our powerful x86 processor cores and hands-down best graphics experiences, we achieved 28 percent revenue growth from the year-ago quarter. We are well positioned to continue to grow profitably as we diversify our business and enable our customers to drive change and win.

AMD investors have been used to post-earnings sell-offs, but that does not appear to be the case this time around. In fact, this is likely to set up a very positive base ahead. AMD shares closed down almost 2% at $3.69 ahead of earnings but the stock was up close to 5% at $3.85 in the after-hours session. AMD shares have traded in a 52-week range of $2.29 to $4.65 and the consensus analyst price target going into earnings was $4.00.

After today’s news, AMD shares are still a candidate for being one of those stocks that could double in 2014.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.