Yields rise at AMD but so do rumours

A year ago Posted 31st March 1998 Reliable sources within AMD US have confirmed that the company is on top of its yield problem which have dogged its K6 processor for the last six months. But the company is in its so-called "quiet period" meaning that no official will go on the record about the improvements in production. "Yields are now very good," the source said. And as the news came through, rumours again began to circulate on Wall Street that AMD was once more in talks with a possible investor. IBM is the favourite but other names pulled out of the hat include NEC and Fujitsu. These last two are unlikely choices because both are in the process of re-engineering their semiconductor business units. They might, however, see more benefit from manufacturing CPUs rather than memories. News that yields were better caused AMD’s shares to rise by nearly $2 to $26.56 on Wall Street. At the beginning of the week, Jerry Sanders, CEO of AMD, took a wage cut to show his commitment to the company. ®