Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stocks Gain, AMD Falls Post Latest Quarter Announcement

Summary

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Microsoft Corporation stocks have been trending on the stock market this week.
• AMD announced its decision to acquire rival company Xilinx Inc in an all-stock buyout of US$35 billion.
• Microsoft scrips jumped nearly two per cent after it posted its latest quarter results reflected revenue and net income growth.

Shares of chipmaker titan Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, AMD:US) and tech giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT, MSFT:US) have been trending following the release of their latest quarter results on Tuesday, October 27.

AMD shares registered a slight drop while Microsoft scrips gained after each of the tech companies reported year-over-year growth in revenue and net income.

Stocks of major tech companies registered a mostly positive performance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Investors sought after tech stocks in these uncertain times, with the S&P 500 Information Technology gaining over 27 per cent year-to-date (YTD). The NASDAQ-100 tech index is up about 17 per cent this year, while the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology climbed over 38 per cent YTD.

Let’s take a closer look at the trending tech stocks of Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Microsoft Corporation:

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, MSFT:US)

Current Share Price: C$ 204.03

Stocks of Microsoft Corporation rose nearly two per cent after the release of its latest quarter results, which reflected revenue and net income growth.

Microsoft stocks have been in quite demand throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Back in September, the tech juggernaut unveiled its much-awaited Xbox Series S and Series X game consoles, which are expected to hit the market on November 10 this year.

MSFT STOCK PERFORMANCE

Microsoft shares are up nearly 33 per cent this year. They plunged to a low of US$ 135.42 (March 16) when the markets bottom out back in March. However, the stocks grew over 37 per cent in the next seven months. Its stock price climbed nearly 26 per cent in the last six months and about five per cent in three per cent.

It currently has an average moving volume of 25.3 million in the last 10 days and 29.1 million in the last 30 days.

MSFT FY21 Q1 RESULTS

Microsoft Corporation posted a growth of 12 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in its revenue of US$ 37.2 billion in the fiscal year 2021 first quarter. Its operating income stood at US$ 15.9 billion in FY21 Q1, a 25 per cent increase from US$ 12.7 billion in FY20 Q1. Its net income also registered a climb of 30 per cent YoY in FY21 Q1, amounting to US$ 13.9 billion.

The company’s diluted earnings per share was US$ 1.82, up 32 per cent YoY.

Microsoft reported a nine per cent YoY increase in the revenue generated from Office Commercial products and cloud services FY21 Q1. The company said this growth was driven by the 21 per cent revenue growth in Office 365 Commercial.

Its revenue from Office Consumer products and cloud services climbed 13 per cent YoY, while Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers rose to 45.3 million in the latest quarter.

Revenue generated from Windows OEM declined 5 per cent, but Xbox content and services registered a substantial 30 per cent growth in revenue in FY20 Q1.

YTD comparative chart of Microsoft and AMD stocks; Source: EODHD/Others/Thompson and Reuters

Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, AMD:US)
Current AMD Stock Price: US$ 78.88

Along with its third quarter results for 2020, Advanced Micro Devices Inc also announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire rival company Xilinx Inc in an all-stock buyout of US$ 35 billion. AMD plans to close the deal by the end of 2021.

Following the news, shares of AMD fell about four per cent on Tuesday.

The California-based company revealed its much-anticipated next-gen Ryzen 5000 Series central processing units (CPU) earlier in October. The new models are expected to hit the markets worldwide on November 5 this year.

AMD STOCK PERFORMANCE

AMD shares register a growth of over 60 per cent this year. Since slipping to a low of C$ 38.71 (March 16) amid the COVID-led market crash, its scrips rebounded recovered nearly 104 per cent in the following seven month.

AMD stocks climbed nearly 40 per cent in the last six months and about 17 per cent in three months. In the last 10 days, it has accumulated an average share trading volume of 52.3 million.

AMD Q3 2020 RESULTS

Advanced Micro Devices Inc recorded a substantial 56 per cent YoY growth in its revenue of US$ 2.80 billion in the third quarter ending 26 September 2020. Its operating income of US$ 449 million was up 141 per cent YoY and its net income of US$ 390 million was up 225 per cent YoY in Q3 2020.

AMD recorded diluted earnings per share of US$ 0.32, while its operating expenses stood at US$ 781 million in the latest quarter.