Why AMD Stock Jumped Today

What happened

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) climbed 5.3% on Monday, following a new hardware usage report from the online game platform Steam.

So what 

Each month, Steam asks its users what computer hardware they use. Its most recent survey showed that AMD continues to wrestle away market share from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). 

Advanced Micro Devices' stock rose on Monday as investors cheered its gaming market share gains. Image source: Getty Images.

AMD's central processing units (CPUs) powered 25.75% of the Windows PCs used by Steam's customers in September, up from 22.45% in May. Intel's market share declined from 77.54% to 74.24% during this same time. 

Now what

Steam's report showed AMD gaining ground on Intel each of the last four months -- a trend that bodes well for its upcoming third-quarter earnings report, which is expected to be released by early November. 

AMD is benefiting from Intel's struggles. The semiconductor giant is dealing with costly production delays for its next-generation chips. AMD, in turn, is gaining share in the fast-growing server processor market, as cloud giants like Amazon increasingly switch to its chips. 

If AMD's gaming-related sales are also growing rapidly, as Steam's survey suggests, much more gains could lie ahead for its investors.

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