Intel Rumored To Be Preparing $3B In Customer Discounts To Counter AMD

The Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD threat has become real and potent, drawing uncharacteristic responses from Intel Corporation INTC.

Intel's Loss, AMD's Gain

Intel, which still commands a significant share of desktop, notebook and server processor market, is slowly and steadily losing share to rival AMD.

AMD now has over 30% of the CPU market, according to data from CPUBenchmark, with the share gains coming at the expense of Intel, which has seen its market share erode.

Intel is planning to take on AMD with some unconventional moves, according to a slide shown in a YouTube video by AdoredTV, which said it was leaked from an internal Intel sales meeting, Tech Radar reported Monday. 

The information is "one of the sketchier entries in the rumor category," the publication said. 

Competing On Price?

Intel is planning to offer price cuts of up to $3 billion across its lineup of desktop and notebook processors as well as its Xeon server processors, according to the report. 

Intel has been under pressure ever since AMD launched its Ryzen lineup of processors and EPYC server processors, both of which are seen as being competitive technically and economically.

Intel's cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments amounted to $5.28 billion as of June 30, 2019, according to the company's 10-Q filing.

The chipmaker generated a net profit of $4.18 billion for the June quarter.

This compares to AMD's $1.13 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. AMD reported a profit of $35 million for the June quarter of 2019. 

Earlier this month, Videocardz reported that Intel is planning price its high-end desktop processors, codenamed Cascade Lake-X, much lower than the previous generation of Core-X series.

Intel shares were down 1.04% at $51.55 at the time of publication, while AMD shares were up 1.13% at $30.08. 

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