Ten years ago, Advanced Micro Devices’ (NASDAQ: AMD) stock was trading at just $3 a share. At the time, the chipmaker was grappling to match the prowess of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) in the x86 CPU market and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) in the discrete GPU arena.

Amidst the brink of despair, Lisa Su took the reins as AMD’s CEO in October 2014, heralding an epoch of rebirth for the chipmaker. Spectacularly, AMD’s stock now commands a staggering $170. An investment of $20,000 at $3 a share a decade ago would have burgeoned into a princely sum of $1.13 million today. Let us dissect the alchemy behind these millionaire-making magnitudes and contemplate the potential for further regal affluence.

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The Phoenix’s Resurgence Under Lisa Su

Sweeping from the zenith to nadir of the x86 CPU market by 2016, AMD’s global market share, according to PassMark Software, tumbled from 48.4% to a mere 17.8%. Their revenue plummeted from $5.65 billion to $4.32 billion in the decade from 2006 to 2016.

Three formidable challenges instigated this decline. The acquisition of ATI in 2006 to venture into the GPU market vitiated crucial resources from AMD’s CPU business, igniting a brutal rivalry with Nvidia. Intel’s preemptive launch of 45-nanometer chips in 2007 beset AMD, and AMD’s blunder in the transition to 32nm chips in 2011 further exacerbated its fortunes.

Lisa Su orchestrated AMD’s renaissance via three pivotal strategies. AMD burgeoned its EESC chipmaking business, crafting custom APUs for Sony’s PlayStations and Microsoft’s Xbox, resetting its CPU business with the Ryzen and Epyc CPUs, and transitioning production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The magic formula of prowess, precision, and alliance propelled AMD surged forward, while Intel faltered.

A Gilded Future: Prospects for Further Millionaires

A multitude of tailwinds is poised to catapult AMD’s revenue to stratospheric altitudes. Intel’s waning influence and manufacturing woes will steer more PC makers toward AMD’s CPUs. Embracing TSMC’s cutting-edge foundries ensures a smooth sail in production.

Though trailing Nvidia in the gaming GPU domain, AMD is ramping up Instinct data center GPU production for AI tasks. The dire shortage in Nvidia’s data center GPUs could pivot the tide in AMD’s favor, beckoning tech behemoths like Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Oracle, Dell Technologies, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to the feast.

The strategic acquisition of Xilinx in 2022, specialized in FPGA circuits, bolsters AMD’s stance in the AI realm. Amidst buzz of Intel divesting Altera, AMD emerges as the sole hub for CPUs, GPUs, and FPGA circuits, adorning itself as an oasis for the burgeoning AI market.

Analysts prophesy a meteoric 20% CAGR in revenue from 2023 to 2026, with a staggering 101% CAGR in EPS. AMD’s stock valiantly stands at 50 times next year’s earnings, cushioned by its rapid expansion dreams. Should these dreams crystallize, an EPS projection of $32 by 2035 paints a picture of an 840% stock surge, leading to a market cap of $2.6 trillion by 2034.

Venturing into the whirlpool, a $120,000 investment today might materialize into a million-dollar tapestry in a decade. For the more patient sojourner, AMD still holds the promise of tiara-clad returns even from scants funds.

To Invest or Not to Invest: The Conundrum

Before taking the plunge into AMD stock, ponder this:

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