I wouldn't exactly call this groundbreaking, but AMD reports an 0.1% increase in market share against rival CPU manufacturer Intel Corp. Intel has had great success lately, reaping the rewards of a product which actually performs. Another factor contributing to allround Q2 success may be the resurgance of PC sales.

Surprisingly, AMD's stock closed lower this afternoon, possibly in reaction to high level leak that Intel's response to AMD's 64-bit processor is nearing completion. Codenamed 'Yamhill', insiders say the processor could be powering servers as early as Q2 2004, though the consumer version will not follow until 2005.

My analysis: AMD has committed a bit of a blunder here by allowing Intel the precious time it needs to catch up in the 64-bit race. AMD was the first to put their product to market, but as a result of poor planning and chip fabrication problems, they have not capitalised on their technical advantage. Pivotal in the success of any 64-bit server processor is Operating System support, but whilst various Unix flavours exist which support 64-bit processors, Microsoft continues to delay its 64-bit version of Windows. This has lead some to believe that Intel may have an ally (apart from the obvious). Well, at the rate Intel is getting themselves into trouble they'll need all the allies they can muster.