Earnings, new chip give AMD a boost

Shares of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. got a big boost after second-quarter results and early signs of success for a new chip gave investors reason for optimism. AMD said it sold more than 7 million of the chips, which combine graphics and general purpose capabilities, in the period. AMD earned 8 cents per share in the period on $61 million net income, compared with a loss of $43 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales fell 4.8 percent to $1.57 billion. The results beat Street estimates by a penny. With the new chips, AMD hopes to gain some market share against its larger rival Intel. AMD also forecasted third-quarter sales that exceeded estimates. Revenue in the current period will increase about 10 percent, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD said.