AMD's Q2 better than expected; sees Q3 profit ahead

AMD's second quarter featured losses and a 18 percent decline in revenue, but came in better than estimates.

The company reported a second quarter loss of $74 million, or 10 cents a share, on revenue of $1.16 billion. The non-GAAP loss was 9 cents a share in the quarter.

Wall Street was looking for a loss of 12 cents a share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

In a statement, AMD CEO Rory Read said restructuring efforts have paid off and the company aims to deliver "significant revenue growth and a return to profitability in the third quarter."

The company's traditional CPU business showed improvement over the first quarter. Graphics chips were off from a year ago. The company ended the quarter with 9,928 employees, down from 11,737 a year ago.