March 19, 2007 – Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) had “a banner year from an industry perspective in 2006,” according to the Associated Press, taking about 4% of the overall processor market from Intel, with strong gains in the server market.
Market researcher iSuppli Corp. said last Thursday that AMD is now the eighth-largest semiconductor company in the world when measured by revenue; the company jumped up from 15th place last year. Much of that growth appears to be driven by AMD’s $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies Inc., but also by strong microprocessor market-share gains at Intel’s expense, the AP reports.
AMD’s chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz collected compensation the company valued at $16.1 million in 2006. According to a proxy statement filed last week, Ruiz received just over $1 million in salary for the year, plus $2.6 million in bonuses for “meeting long-term and short-term objectives.”
The AP says he was granted restricted stock and stock options estimated at $12.1 million on the days they were granted, with a portion of the restricted stock awards contingent upon the company meeting certain performance targets through 2008.
The AP calculations of total pay include executives’ salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. They may vary from totals that companies report.
Thursday’s SEC filing also showed that Ruiz received profits of $9.3 million from the exercise of options on some 410,000 shares. He also had about $748,000 worth of restricted stock vest during the year.
Looking at the other side of the coin, AMD’s stock has dropped more than 60% over the past year due to investors’ worries about whether the company can maintain its headway as Intel fights back with a strong new product lineup claiming major performance and energy-efficiency improvements.
AMD’s stock closed down $0.20, or 1.4$, to $13.93 during Thursday’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In February, analyst Doug Freedman of American Technology Research, noted that AMD showed “increasing concerns about cash flow” and may need to look into capital markets for operating funds.