AMD Stock Forecast 2026: Q1 Earnings Beat Sends Shares Soaring

AMD’s stock surged 12-15% in after-hours trading on May 5, 2026, following strong Q1 earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. The company reported revenue of $10.25 billion, up 38% year-over-year, with adjusted earnings per share rising 43% to $1.37, nearly double the net income from 2025. Analysts had projected $9.89 billion in revenue, making the $360 million beat significant, though the real focus was on accelerating profitability. Data center revenue led the gains, hitting $5.8 billion—up 57% year-over-year and surpassing the $5.64 billion analysts forecasted. This segment, combining EPYC server CPUs and Instinct AI accelerators, now drives over half of AMD’s total revenue. CEO Lisa Su emphasized that AI infrastructure demand is the primary driver of growth, marking a shift from AMD’s traditional consumer and gaming markets. The earnings call also revealed an updated long-term outlook for server CPUs, with AMD forecasting over 35% annual growth in the addressable market, reaching $120 billion by 2030. This represents a sharp increase from the 18% growth rate projected just six months prior. AMD guided server CPU revenue to grow more than 70% year-over-year, reflecting strong demand for inference workloads in AI deployment. Despite the positive results, risks remain, including memory chip shortages and competition from Intel. However, the earnings reinforced AMD’s positioning as a high-margin AI infrastructure player rather than a traditional chipmaker. The stock’s 65% year-to-date gain further underscored investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.