Which Would You Rather Micro Edition – Intel or AMD?

The revolution in personal computing which has swept the world over the last 30 years has affected virtually every part of life for the vast majority of the world’s inhabitants.  But this macro revolution would not have been possible without the invention of the microprocessor.  In today’s market two companies, Intel INTC and Advanced Micro Devices AMD, are largely responsible for the vast majority of the world’s best microprocessors.  However, with the wholesale change over from personal computing to the use of mobile devices, the companies’ dominance is being challenged.  Let’s take a look at how these companies comparatively performed over the past 12 months.

On April 4, 2013 Intel opened the trading day at $21.05.  The stock quickly moved higher and by early June was trading over $25.00 per share.  The summer saw a pullback in Intel stock, and it continued to trade in the low $20.00s until late in the year when it was finally able to pull back above $25.00 per share, and close 2013 at $25.60 per share.  Going into 2014 Intel’s stock continued to trade in the same general range, until breaking out slightly to the upside in early April, trading up past $26.00 per share.

AMD opened April 4, 2013 trading at just $2.34 per share.  By May 15^th AMD’s stock price had nearly doubled, trading as high as $4.42 per share.  AMD was able to maintain a strong share price through mid-July, before pulling back under the $4.00 mark.  The company would not challenge its mid-spring high for the rest of the year, and went on to close 2013 trading at $3.87 per share, which still represented a significant increase on the year.  In January 2014 and the stock attempted to make another run, getting as high as $4.51 per share before falling back down.  Going into early April, AMD is trading in the low $4.00 range.

In the world of computing, whether it be on a personal level or enterprise level, one thing remains the same: companies which don’t innovate, deteriorate.  Both Intel and AMD have made their marks in one of the most fast changing and highly competitive industries in the modern world.  In order to continue their market duopoly thee microprocessor manufacturers are soon going to have to produce an entirely new kind of microprocessor chip.  By all reports the current silicone based chips are fast approaching their physical limits, and the company which is first to market with its replacement will likely secure in its place in the future of microprocessors.  Only time will tell whether this will be Intel, AMD, or another company.