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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-213513

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these shares of common stock has become effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This preliminary prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell shares of common stock and it is not soliciting an offer to buy shares of common stock in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to completion, dated September 6, 2016.

Prospectus supplement

(To prospectus dated September 6, 2016)

 

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

$600,000,000

Common stock

We are offering              shares of our common stock, with an aggregate public offering price of $600,000,000, as described in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. At an assumed public offering price of $7.51 per share, the closing price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) on September 2, 2016, we would expect to issue and sell 79,893,475 shares.

Our common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “AMD”. On September 2, 2016, the last reported sale price of our common stock on NASDAQ was $7.51 per share.

We anticipate that we will use the net proceeds of this offering, together with the net proceeds of the anticipated Convertible Notes Offering (as defined herein), to repay up to $226 million of our borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated as of April 14, 2015 (as amended, the “Amended and Restated Loan Agreement”) that provides our secured revolving line of credit (“Secured Revolving Line of Credit”) and to purchase up to $1,020 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes (as defined herein) (assuming no proceeds are used for the repayment of the borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement). We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer (as defined herein) with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Neither the completion of this offering nor of the Convertible Notes Offering is contingent on the completion of the other, so it is possible that this offering occurs and the anticipated Convertible Notes Offering does not occur, and vice versa. If the Convertible Notes Offering is not completed, we anticipate the proceeds of this offering will be used to repay borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and to purchase up to $355.3 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes. We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer (as defined herein) with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.” This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities being offered in the anticipated Convertible Notes Offering.

 

		Per share				Total
Public offering price		$				$
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)		$				$
Proceeds to AMD, before expenses		$				$

 

(1)

We refer you to “Underwriting: Conflicts of Interest” beginning on page S-44 of this prospectus supplement for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to              additional shares of our common stock, representing an aggregate offering price of $90,000,000.

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” on page S-8 of this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the factors you should carefully consider before deciding to purchase shares of our common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares on or about                 , 2016.

Joint book-running managers

 

J.P. Morgan		Barclays		Credit Suisse

BofA Merrill Lynch		Wells Fargo Securities		Deutsche Bank Securities		Morgan Stanley

                    , 2016

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Table of contents

 

Prospectus supplement

 

About this prospectus supplement			S-ii
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements			S-iii
Prospectus supplement summary			S-1
The offering			S-4
Summary of historical consolidated financial information			S-6
Risk factors			S-8
Use of proceeds			S-31
Capitalization			S-32
Dilution			S-34
Price range of common stock			S-36
Dividend policy			S-37
Description of capital stock			S-38
Material U.S. federal income tax consequences to non-U.S. holders			S-40
Underwriting; conflicts of interest			S-44
Legal matters			S-54
Experts			S-54
Where you can find more information			S-55
Incorporation by reference			S-56

Prospectus

 

About this prospectus			1
Where you can find more information; incorporation by reference			2
The company			4
Use of proceeds			6
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preferred share dividends			7
Description of capital stock			8
Description of debt securities			10
Description of other securities			18
Global securities			19
Plan of distribution			22
Legal matters			23
Experts			23

 

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About this prospectus supplement

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus dated September 6, 2016 are part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may from time to time offer to sell shares of common stock in one or more offerings. We provide information to you about this offering of shares of our common stock in two separate documents that are bound together: (1) this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific details regarding this offering; and (2) the accompanying prospectus, which provides general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to both documents combined. If information in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on this prospectus supplement. However, if any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date—for example, a document incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus—the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement as our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the earlier dates. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering when making your investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents we have referred you to under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation by Reference.”

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any related free writing prospectus filed by us with the SEC. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy our common stock other than our common stock described in this prospectus supplement or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy our common stock in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference and any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of their respective dates. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed materially since those dates.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Catalyst, FirePro, Radeon and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in the United States and in other selected countries. All other brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus supplement are the property of their respective holders. Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this prospectus supplement to “AMD,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries.

 

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Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated herein and therein by reference includes statements that are, or may be deemed, “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and beliefs and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof or as of the dates indicated in the statements and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events, as we cannot assure you that the events or circumstances reflected in these statements will be achieved or will occur. You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology including “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “pro forma,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or the negative of these words and phrases, other variations of these words and phrases or comparable terminology.

The forward-looking statements relate to, among other things:

 

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demand for AMD’s products;

 

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the growth, change and competitive landscape of the markets in which AMD participates;

 

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future restructuring activities;

 

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the completion of this offering, the Convertible Notes Offering and the purchase of our Senior Notes;

 

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the nature and extent of AMD’s future payments to GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (“GF”) and the materiality of these payments;

 

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the materiality of AMD’s future purchases from GF;

 

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the expected amount and timing of the final net cash proceeds from the joint venture transaction between AMD and Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co. Ltd.;

 

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the expected amounts to be received by AMD under the IP licensing agreement and AMD’s expected royalty payments from future product sales of the China JVs’ products to be developed on the basis of such licensed IP;

 

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AMD may not realize the benefits anticipated from any acquisitions, divestitures and/or joint ventures;

 

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sales patterns of AMD’s PC products and semi-custom System-on-Chip (“SoC”) products for game consoles;

 

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the level of international sales as compared to total sales;

 

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AMD’s expected completion of its restructuring plan announced in October 2015 (the “2015 Restructuring Plan”);

 

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that other unrecognized tax benefits will not materially change in the next 12 months;

 

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that AMD’s cash and cash equivalents balances together with the availability under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit made available to AMD and certain of its subsidiaries under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement will be sufficient to fund AMD’s operations including capital expenditures over the next 12 months;

 

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AMD’s ability to obtain sufficient external financing on favorable terms, or at all;

 

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AMD’s expectation that based on the information presently known to management, the securities class action and the shareholder derivative suit will not have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, cash flows or results of operations; and

 

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AMD does not expect to pay dividends in the future.

 

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Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation’s dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD’s ability to compete effectively; AMD relies on GF to manufacture all of its microprocessor and accelerated processing unit (“APU”) products and a certain portion of its discrete graphics processing units (“GPU”) products, with limited exceptions. If GF is not able to satisfy AMD’s manufacturing requirements, its business could be adversely impacted; AMD relies on third parties to manufacture its products, and if they are unable to do so on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies, AMD’s business could be materially adversely affected; failure to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD’s products could negatively impact its financial results; the success of AMD’s business is dependent upon its ability to introduce products on a timely basis with features and performance levels that provide value to its customers while supporting and coinciding with significant industry transitions; if AMD cannot generate sufficient revenue and operating cash flow or obtain external financing, it may face a cash shortfall and be unable to make all of its planned investments in research and development or other strategic investments; the loss of a significant customer may have a material adverse effect on AMD; AMD’s receipt of revenue from its semi-custom SoC products is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products; global economic uncertainty may adversely impact AMD’s business and operating results; AMD may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service its debt obligations or meet its working capital requirements; AMD has a substantial amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect its financial position and prevent it from implementing its strategy or fulfilling its contractual obligations; the agreements governing AMD’s notes and the Secured Revolving Line of Credit impose restrictions on AMD that may adversely affect its ability to operate its business; the markets in which AMD’s products are sold are highly competitive; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD’s products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD’s products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. Fluctuations in demand for AMD’s products or a market decline in any of these industries could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations; the completion and impact of the 2015 Restructuring Plan, its transformation initiatives and any future restructuring actions could adversely affect it; AMD’s ability to design and introduce new products in a timely manner is dependent upon third-party intellectual property; AMD depends on third-party companies for the design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software and other computer platform components to support its business; if AMD loses Microsoft Corporation’s support for its products or other software vendors do not design and develop software to run on AMD’s products, its ability to sell its products could be materially adversely affected; AMD’s reliance on third-party distributors and AIB partners subjects it to certain risks; AMD’s inability to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel may hinder its product development programs; in the event of a change of control, AMD may not be able to repurchase its outstanding debt as required by the applicable indentures and its Secured Revolving Line of Credit, which would result in a default under the indentures and its Secured Revolving Line of Credit; the semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and has experienced severe downturns that have materially adversely affected, and may continue to materially adversely affect its business in the future; acquisitions, divestitures and/or joint ventures could disrupt its business, harm its financial condition and operating results or dilute, or adversely affect the price of its common stock; AMD’s business is dependent upon the proper functioning of its internal business processes and information systems and modification or interruption of such systems may disrupt its business, processes and internal controls; data breaches and cyber-attacks could compromise AMD’s intellectual property or other sensitive information, be costly to remediate and cause significant damage to its business and reputation; AMD’s operating results are subject to quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; if essential equipment, materials or manufacturing processes are not available to manufacture its products, AMD could be materially adversely affected; if AMD’s products are not compatible with some or all industry-standard software and hardware, it could be materially adversely affected; costs related to defective products could have a material adverse effect on AMD; if AMD fails to maintain the efficiency of its supply chain as it responds to changes in customer demand for its products, its business could be materially adversely affected; AMD

 

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outsources to third parties certain supply-chain logistics functions, including portions of its product distribution, transportation management and information technology support services; AMD may incur future impairments of goodwill; AMD’s worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; worldwide political conditions may adversely affect demand for AMD’s products; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect AMD; AMD’s inability to effectively control the sales of its products on the gray market could have a material adverse effect on it; if AMD cannot adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property in the United States and abroad, through patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks and other measures, it may lose a competitive advantage and incur significant expenses; AMD is a party to litigation and may become a party to other claims or litigation that could cause it to incur substantial costs or pay substantial damages or prohibit it from selling its products; AMD’s business is subject to potential tax liabilities; and AMD is subject to environmental laws, conflict minerals-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as well as a variety of other laws or regulations that could result in additional costs and liabilities.

 

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Risk factors

You should consider the risk factors below as well as the other information set forth or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus also contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks faced by us described below, elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

Risks related to our business

Intel Corporation’s dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit our ability to compete effectively.

Intel Corporation has been the market share leader for microprocessors for many years. Intel’s market share, margins and significant financial resources enable it to market its products aggressively, to target our customers and our channel partners with special incentives and to influence customers who do business with us. These aggressive activities have in the past and are likely in the future to result in lower unit sales and a lower average selling price for many of our products and adversely affect our margins and profitability.

Intel exerts substantial influence over computer manufacturers and their channels of distribution through various brand and other marketing programs. As a result of Intel’s position in the microprocessor market, Intel has been able to control x86 microprocessor and computer system standards and benchmarks and to dictate the type of products the microprocessor market requires of us. Intel also dominates the computer system platform, which includes core logic chipsets, graphics chips, motherboards and other components necessary to assemble a computer system. OEMs that purchase microprocessors for computer systems are highly dependent on Intel, less innovative on their own and, to a large extent, are distributors of Intel technology. Additionally, Intel is able to drive de facto standards and specifications for x86 microprocessors that could cause us and other companies to have delayed access to such standards.

As long as Intel remains in this dominant position, we may be materially adversely affected by Intel’s:

 

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business practices, including rebating and allocation strategies and pricing actions, designed to limit our market share and margins;

 

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product mix and introduction schedules;

 

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product bundling, marketing and merchandising strategies;

 

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exclusivity payments to its current and potential customers and channel partners;

 

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de facto control over industry standards, and heavy influence on PC manufacturers and other PC industry participants, including motherboard, memory, chipset and basic input/output system, or BIOS, suppliers and software companies as well as the graphics interface for Intel platforms; and

 

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marketing and advertising expenditures in support of positioning the Intel brand over the brand of its original equipment manufacturer OEM customers.

Intel has substantially greater financial resources than we do and accordingly spends substantially greater amounts on marketing and research and development than we do. We expect Intel to maintain its market

 

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position and to continue to invest heavily in marketing, research and development, new manufacturing facilities and other technology companies. To the extent Intel manufactures a significantly larger portion of its microprocessor products using more advanced process technologies, or introduces competitive new products into the market before we do, we may be more vulnerable to Intel’s aggressive marketing and pricing strategies for microprocessor products. For example, Intel has introduced microprocessors for low-cost notebooks, similar to products that we offer for low-cost notebooks.

Intel could also take actions that place our discrete GPUs at a competitive disadvantage, including giving one or more of our competitors in the graphics market, such as Nvidia Corporation, preferential access to its proprietary graphics interface or other useful information.

Intel’s position in the microprocessor market and integrated graphics chipset market, its introduction of competitive new products, its existing relationships with top-tier OEMs and its aggressive marketing and pricing strategies could result in lower unit sales and a lower average selling price for our products, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

We rely on GF to manufacture all of our microprocessor and APU products and a certain portion of our GPU products, with limited exceptions. If GF is not able to satisfy our manufacturing requirements, our business could be adversely impacted.

The WSA governs the terms by which we purchase products manufactured by GF. Pursuant to the WSA, we are required to purchase all of our microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of our GPU product requirements, from GF with limited exceptions. If GF is unable to achieve anticipated manufacturing yields, remain competitive using or implementing advanced leading-edge process technologies needed to manufacture future generations of our products, manufacture our products on a timely basis at competitive prices or meet our capacity requirements, then we may experience delays in product launches, supply shortages for certain products or increased costs and our business could be materially adversely affected.

Additionally, if our requirements are less than the number of wafers that we committed to purchase, we could have excess inventory or higher inventory unit costs, both of which may adversely impact our gross margin and our results of operations.

We are currently in the process of negotiating a sixth amendment to the WSA, and we expect that our future purchases from GF will continue to be material. If we do not successfully conclude our negotiations, it could have a material adverse impact on our gross margin and our results of operations.

In addition, GF has relied on Mubadala Technology Investments LLC (“Mubadala Tech”) for its funding needs. If Mubadala Tech fails to adequately fund GF on a timely basis, or at all, GF’s ability to manufacture products for us could be materially adversely affected.

We rely on third parties to manufacture our products, and if they are unable to do so on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies, our business could be materially adversely affected.

We rely on third-party wafer foundries to fabricate the silicon wafers for all of our products. We also rely on third-party manufacturers to assemble, test, mark and pack (“ATMP”) our products. It is important to have reliable relationships with all of these third-party manufacturing suppliers to ensure adequate product supply to respond to customer demand.

We cannot guarantee that these manufacturers or our other third-party manufacturing suppliers will be able to meet our near-term or long-term manufacturing requirements. If we experience supply constraints from our third-party manufacturing suppliers, we may be required to allocate the affected products amongst our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our relationships with these customers and on our

 

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financial condition. In addition, if we are unable to meet customer demand due to fluctuating or late supply from our manufacturing suppliers, it could result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our business.

We do not have long-term commitment contracts with some of our third-party manufacturing suppliers. We obtain some of these manufacturing services on a purchase order basis and these manufacturers are not required to provide us with any specified minimum quantity of product beyond the quantities in an existing purchase order. Accordingly, we depend on these suppliers to allocate to us a portion of their manufacturing capacity sufficient to meet our needs, to produce products of acceptable quality and at acceptable manufacturing yields and to deliver those products to us on a timely basis and at acceptable prices. The manufacturers we use also fabricate wafers and assemble, test and package products for other companies, including certain of our competitors. They could choose to prioritize capacity for other customers, increase the prices that they charge us on short notice or reduce or eliminate deliveries to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Other risks associated with our dependence on third-party manufacturers include limited control over delivery schedules and quality assurance, lack of capacity in periods of excess demand, misappropriation of our intellectual property, dependence on several small undercapitalized subcontractors and limited ability to manage inventory and parts. Moreover, if any of our third-party manufacturers suffer any damage to facilities, lose benefits under material agreements, experience power outages, lack sufficient capacity to manufacture our products, encounter financial difficulties, are unable to secure necessary raw materials from their suppliers or suffer any other disruption or reduction in efficiency, we may encounter supply delays or disruptions. If we are unable to secure sufficient or reliable supplies of products, our ability to meet customer demand may be adversely affected and this could materially affect our business.

If we transition the production of some of our products to new manufacturers, we may experience delayed product introductions, lower yields or poorer performance of our products. If we experience problems with product quality or are unable to secure sufficient capacity from a particular third-party manufacturer, or if we for other reasons cease utilizing one of those suppliers, we may be unable to secure an alternative supply for any specific product in a short time frame. We could experience significant delays in the shipment of our products if we are required to find alternative third-party manufacturers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

On April 29, 2016, we consummated the transaction contemplated by the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 15, 2015 with Nantong Fujitsu Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (“JV Party”), under which we sold to JV Party 85% of the equity interests in our ATMP facilities consisting of AMD Technologies (China) Co., Ltd. (now Suzhou TF-AMD Semiconductor Co., Ltd.) and Advanced Micro Devices Export Sdn. Bhd., thereby forming two joint ventures (collectively, the “JVs”). Going forward, the majority of our ATMP services will be provided by the JVs and there is no guarantee that the JVs will be able to adequately fulfill our ATMP requirements as we transition operations to the JV Party, nor is there any guarantee that the JVs will be able to fulfill our long-term ATMP requirements. If we are unable to meet customer demand due to fluctuating or late supply from the JVs, it could result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our business.

Failure to achieve expected manufacturing yields for our products could negatively impact our financial results.

Semiconductor manufacturing yields are a result of both product design and process technology, which is typically proprietary to the manufacturer, and low yields can result from design failures, process technology failures or a combination of both. Our third-party foundries, including GF, are responsible for the process technologies used to fabricate silicon wafers. If our third-party foundries experience manufacturing

 

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inefficiencies or encounter disruptions, errors or difficulties during production, we may fail to achieve acceptable yields or experience product delivery delays. We cannot be certain that our third-party foundries will be able to develop, obtain or successfully implement leading-edge process technologies needed to manufacture future generations of our products profitably or on a timely basis or that our competitors will not develop new technologies, products or processes earlier. Moreover, during periods when foundries are implementing new process technologies, their manufacturing facilities may not be fully productive. A substantial delay in the technology transitions to smaller process technologies could have a material adverse effect on us, particularly if our competitors transition to more cost effective technologies before us. Any decrease in manufacturing yields could result in an increase in per unit costs, which would adversely impact our gross margin and/or force us to allocate our reduced product supply amongst our customers, which could harm our relationships and reputation with our customers and materially adversely affect our business.

The success of our business is dependent upon our ability to introduce products on a timely basis with features and performance levels that provide value to our customers while supporting and coinciding with significant industry transitions.

Our success depends to a significant extent on the development, qualification, implementation and acceptance of new product designs and improvements that provide value to our customers. Our ability to develop, qualify and distribute, and have manufactured, new products and related technologies to meet evolving industry requirements, at prices acceptable to our customers and on a timely basis are significant factors in determining our competitiveness in our target markets. For example, a large portion of our Computing and Graphics revenue is focused on consumer desktop PC and notebook segments, which have experienced and continue to experience a decline driven by, among other factors, the adoption of smaller form factors, increased competition and changes in replacement cycles. As consumers adopt new form factors, have new product feature preferences or have different requirements than those consumers in the PC market, PC sales could be negatively impacted, which could adversely impact our business. Our product roadmap includes a new x86 processor core codenamed “Zen” to help drive our re-entry into high-performance and server computing. We cannot assure you that our efforts to execute our product roadmap and address markets beyond our core PC market will result in innovative products and technologies that provide value to our customers. If we fail to or are delayed in developing, qualifying or shipping new products or technologies that provide value to our customers and address these new trends or if we fail to predict which new form factors consumers will adopt and adjust our business accordingly, we may lose competitive positioning, which could cause us to lose market share and require us to discount the selling prices of our products. Although we make substantial investments in research and development, we cannot be certain that we will be able to develop, obtain or successfully implement new products and technologies on a timely basis.

Delays in developing, qualifying or shipping new products can also cause us to miss our customers’ product design windows or, in some cases, breach contractual obligations or cause us to pay penalties. If our customers do not include our products in the initial design of their computer systems or products, they will typically not use our products in their systems or products until at least the next design configuration. The process of being qualified for inclusion in a customer’s system or product can be lengthy and could cause us to further miss a cycle in the demand of end-users, which also could result in a loss of market share and harm our business.

In addition, market demand requires that products incorporate new features and performance standards on an industry-wide basis. Over the life of a specific product, the sale price is typically reduced over time. The introduction of new products and enhancements to existing products is necessary to maintain the overall corporate average selling price. If we are unable to introduce new products with sufficiently high sale prices or to increase unit sales volumes capable of offsetting the reductions in the sale prices of existing products over time, our business could be materially adversely affected.

 

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If we cannot generate sufficient revenue and operating cash flow or obtain external financing, we may face a cash shortfall and be unable to make all of our planned investments in research and development or other strategic investments.

Our ability to fund research and development expenditures depends on generating sufficient revenue and cash flow from operations and the availability of external financing, if necessary. Our research and development expenditures, together with ongoing operating expenses, will be a substantial drain on our cash flow and may decrease our cash balances. If new competitors, technological advances by existing competitors or other competitive factors require us to invest significantly greater resources than anticipated in our research and development efforts, our operating expenses would increase. If we are required to invest significantly greater resources than anticipated in research and development efforts without an increase in revenue, our operating results could decline.

We regularly assess markets for external financing opportunities, including debt and equity financing. Additional debt or equity financing may not be available when needed or, if available, may not be available on satisfactory terms. The health of the credit markets may adversely impact our ability to obtain financing when needed. Any downgrades from credit rating agencies such as Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s may adversely impact our ability to obtain external financing or the terms of such financing. Credit agency downgrades or concerns regarding our credit worthiness may impact relationships with our suppliers, who may limit our credit lines. Our inability to obtain needed financing or to generate sufficient cash from operations may require us to abandon projects or curtail planned investments in research and development or other strategic initiatives. If we curtail planned investments in research and development or abandon projects, our products may fail to remain competitive and our business would be materially adversely affected.

The loss of a significant customer may have a material adverse effect on us.

Collectively, our top two and our top five customers accounted for approximately 54% and 74% of our net revenue, respectively, during the second quarter of 2016. On a segment basis, during the second quarter of 2016, five customers accounted for approximately 59% of the net revenue of our Computing and Graphics segment and five customers accounted for approximately 97% of the net revenue of our Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment. We expect that a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of revenue of our businesses in the future. If one of our key customers decides to stop buying our products, or if one of these customers materially reduces or reorganizes its operations or its demand for our products, our business would be materially adversely affected.

Our receipt of revenue from our semi-custom SoC products is dependent upon our technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products.

The revenue that we receive from our semi-custom SoC products is in the form of non-recurring engineering fees charged to third parties for design and development services and revenue received in connection with sales of our semi-custom SoC products to these third parties. As a result, our ability to generate revenue from our semi-custom products depends on our ability to secure customers for our semi-custom design pipeline, our customers’ desire to pursue the project, and our semi-custom SoC products being incorporated into those customer’s products. Any revenue from sales of our semi-custom SoC products is directly related to sales of the third-party’s products and reflective of their success in the market. Moreover, we have no control over the marketing efforts of these third parties, and we cannot make any assurances that sales of their products will be successful in current or future years. Consequently, the semi-custom SoC product revenue expected by us may not be fully realized and our operating results may be adversely affected.

 

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Global economic uncertainty may adversely impact our business and operating results.

Uncertain global economic conditions have in the past and may in the future adversely impact our business, including, without limitation, a slowdown in the Chinese economy, one of the largest global markets for desktop and notebook PCs. Uncertainty in the worldwide economic environment may negatively impact consumer confidence and spending causing our customers to postpone purchases. In addition, during challenging economic times, our current or potential future customers may experience cash flow problems and as a result may modify, delay or cancel plans to purchase our products. Additionally, if our customers are not successful in generating sufficient revenue or are unable to secure financing, they may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable that they owe us. The risk related to our customers’ potentially defaulting on or delaying payments to us is increased because we expect that a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of our revenue. Any inability of our current or potential future customers to pay us for our products may adversely affect our earnings and cash flow. Moreover, our key suppliers may reduce their output or become insolvent, thereby adversely impacting our ability to manufacture our products. In addition, uncertain economic conditions may make it more difficult for us to raise funds through borrowings or private or public sales of debt or equity securities.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our debt obligations or meet our working capital requirements.

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our debt will depend on our financial and operating performance, which may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter, and is subject to prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate cash flow or that we will be able to borrow funds, including under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit for a principal amount up to $500 million, in amounts sufficient to enable us to service our debt or to meet our working capital requirements. If we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or to borrow sufficient funds to service our debt, we may be required to sell assets or equity, reduce expenditures, refinance all or a portion of our existing debt or obtain additional financing. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance our debt, sell assets or equity, borrow funds under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit or borrow more funds on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect our financial position and prevent us from implementing our strategy or fulfilling our contractual obligations.

Our total debt as of June 25, 2016 was $2.2 billion, net of unamortized debt issuance costs. Our substantial indebtedness may:

 

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make it difficult for us to satisfy our financial obligations, including making scheduled principal and interest payments;

 

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limit our ability to borrow additional funds for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and general corporate and other purposes;

 

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limit our ability to use our cash flow or obtain additional financing for future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate purposes;

 

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require us to use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make debt service payments;

 

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place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors with relatively less debt; and

 

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increase our vulnerability to the impact of adverse economic and industry conditions.

We enter into interest rate swap agreements from time to time to manage our exposure to interest rate risk. These swap agreements involve risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations

 

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under these arrangements, the risk that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to changes in interest rates and the risk that our exposure to interest rates may increase if interest rates increase.

We also enter into sale and factoring arrangements from time to time with respect to certain of our accounts receivables, which arrangements are non-recourse to us in the event that an account debtor fails to pay for credit-related reasons, and are not included in our indebtedness. We could become obligated to repurchase such accounts receivables or otherwise incur liability to the counterparties under these arrangements under certain circumstances, such as where a commercial dispute arises between us and an account debtor.

The agreements governing our notes and our Secured Revolving Line of Credit impose restrictions on us that may adversely affect our ability to operate our business.

The indentures governing our Senior Notes contain various covenants which limit our ability to, among other things:

 

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incur additional indebtedness;

 

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pay dividends and make other restricted payments;

 

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make certain investments, including investments in our unrestricted subsidiaries;

 

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create or permit certain liens;

 

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create or permit restrictions on the ability of certain restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us;

 

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use the proceeds from sales of assets;

 

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enter into certain types of transactions with affiliates; and

 

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consolidate or merge or sell our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety.

The Amended and Restated Loan Agreement restricts our ability to make cash payments on the notes to the extent that on the date of such payment a default or event of default exists under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, or we have not had at all times during the 45 consecutive days immediately preceding such payment or would not have, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such payment, Excess Cash Availability (as defined in the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement) of at least $100 million. Any of our future debt agreements may contain similar restrictions. If we fail to make any cash payment on the notes when required by the indenture, it would constitute an event of default under the indenture, which, in turn, would constitute an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness.

Our Secured Revolving Line of Credit also contains various covenants which limit our ability to, among other things, make certain investments, merge or consolidate with other entities and permit certain subsidiaries from incurring indebtedness. In addition, further restrictions apply when certain payment conditions (the “Payment Conditions”) are not satisfied with respect to specified transactions, events or payments. The Payment Conditions include that (i) no default or event of default exists and (ii) at all times during the 45 consecutive days immediately prior to such transaction, event or payment and on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such transaction, event or payment and any incurrence or repayment of indebtedness in connection therewith, the Loan Parties’ (as defined below) Excess Cash Availability (as defined in the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement) available cash is greater than the greater of 20% of the total commitment amount and $100 million. If Payment Conditions are not satisfied under certain circumstances, we will become subject to various additional covenants which limit our ability to, among other things:

 

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create liens upon any of the Loan Parties’ property (other than customary permitted liens and liens in respect of up to $1.5 billion of secured credit facilities debt (which amount includes our Secured Revolving Line of Credit));

 

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declare or make cash distributions;

 

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create any encumbrance on the ability of a subsidiary to make any upstream payments;

 

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make asset dispositions other than certain ordinary course dispositions and certain supply chain finance arrangements;

 

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make certain loans, make payments with respect to subordinated debt or certain borrowed money prior to its due date; and

 

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enter into any non-arm’s-length transaction with an affiliate (except for certain customary exceptions).

The agreements governing our notes and our Secured Revolving Line of Credit contain cross-default provisions whereby a default under one agreement would likely result in cross defaults under agreements covering other borrowings. For example, the occurrence of a default with respect to any indebtedness or any failure to repay debt when due in an amount in excess of $50 million would cause a cross default under the indentures governing our Senior Notes, as well as under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit (to the extent such default would result in the acceleration of such indebtedness). The occurrence of a default under any of these borrowing arrangements would permit the applicable note holders or the lenders under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit to declare all amounts outstanding under those borrowing arrangements to be immediately due and payable. If the note holders or the trustee under the indentures governing our Senior Notes or the lenders under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient assets to repay those borrowings.

The markets in which our products are sold are highly competitive.

The markets in which our products are sold are very competitive and delivering the latest and best products to market on a timely basis is critical to achieving revenue growth. We believe that the main factors that determine our product competitiveness are timely product introductions, product quality (including enabling state-of-the-art visual experience), energy efficiency (including power consumption and battery life), reliability, processor clock speed, performance, size (or form factor), selling price, cost, adherence to industry standards (and the creation of open industry standards), level of integration, software and hardware compatibility, security and stability, brand recognition and availability.

We expect that competition will continue to be intense due to rapid technological changes, frequent product introductions by our competitors or new competitors of products that may provide better performance/experience or may include additional features that render our products uncompetitive. We may also face aggressive pricing by competitors, especially during challenging economic times. Some competitors may have greater access or rights to companion technologies, including interface, processor and memory technical information. For instance, with the introduction of our APU products and other competing solutions with integrated graphics, we believe that demand for additional discrete graphics chips and cards may decrease in the future due to improvements in the quality and performance of integrated graphics. In addition, our competitors have significant marketing and sales resources which could increase the competitive environment in such a declining market, leading to lower prices and margins. If competitors introduce competitive new products into the market before us, demand for our products could be adversely impacted and our business could be adversely affected.

In addition, we are entering markets with current and new competitors who may be able to adapt more quickly to customer requirements and emerging technologies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current or new competitors who may have stronger positions in these new markets or

 

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superior ability to anticipate customer requirements and emerging industry trends. We may face delays or disruptions in research and development efforts, or we may be required to invest significantly greater resources in research and development than anticipated.

Uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of our products could materially adversely affect us.

We typically sell our products pursuant to individual purchase orders. We generally do not have long-term supply arrangements with our customers or minimum purchase requirements except that orders generally must be for standard pack quantities. Generally, our customers may cancel orders for standard products more than 30 days prior to shipment without incurring significant fees. We base our inventory levels in part on customers’ estimates of demand for their products, which may not accurately predict the quantity or type of our products that our customers will want in the future or ultimately end up purchasing. Our ability to forecast demand is even further complicated when our products are sold indirectly through downstream channel distributors and customers, as our forecasts for demand are then based on estimates provided by multiple parties throughout the downstream channel.

PC and consumer markets are characterized by short product lifecycles, which can lead to rapid obsolescence and price erosion. In addition, our customers may change their inventory practices on short notice for any reason. We may build inventories during periods of anticipated growth, and the cancellation or deferral of product orders or overproduction due to failure of anticipated orders to materialize, could result in excess or obsolete inventory, which could result in write-downs of inventory and an adverse effect on gross margins.

Factors that may result in excess or obsolete inventory, which could result in write-downs of the value of our inventory, a reduction in the average selling price or a reduction in our gross margin include:

 

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a sudden or significant decrease in demand for our products;

 

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a production or design defect in our products;

 

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a higher incidence of inventory obsolescence because of rapidly changing technology and customer requirements;

 

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a failure to accurately estimate customer demand for our products, including for our older products as our new products are introduced; or

 

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our competitors introducing new products or taking aggressive pricing actions.

For example, in the third quarter of 2015, we recorded an inventory write-down of $65 million consisting primarily of older generation APUs, which adversely impacted our operating results. Since market conditions are uncertain, these and other factors could materially adversely affect our business.

The demand for our products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. Fluctuations in demand for our products or a market decline in any of these industries could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Industry-wide fluctuations in the computer marketplace have materially adversely affected us in the past and may materially adversely affect us in the future. A large portion of our Computing and Graphics revenue is focused on the consumer desktop PC and notebook segments, which have experienced and continue to experience a decline driven by, among other factors, the adoption of smaller form factors, increased competition and changes in replacement cycles. The success of our semi-custom SoC products is dependent on securing customers for our semi-custom design pipeline and consumer market conditions, including the success of the Sony PlayStation^®4 and Microsoft Xbox One game console systems worldwide.

 

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The completion and impact of the 2015 Restructuring Plan, our transformation initiatives and any future restructuring actions could adversely affect us.

In the third quarter of 2015, we implemented the 2015 Restructuring Plan focused on our ongoing efforts to simplify our business and better align resources around our priorities and business outlook. The 2015 Restructuring Plan largely involved a reduction of global headcount by approximately 5% and includes organizational actions such as outsourcing certain IT services and application development. We expect the 2015 Restructuring Plan to be largely completed by the end of the third quarter of 2016. These restructuring actions and any future restructuring actions could have an adverse impact on our business as a result of decreases in employee morale and the failure to meet operational targets due to the loss of employees. We cannot be sure that we will realize operational savings or any other anticipated benefits from the 2015 Restructuring Plan or any future restructuring actions. Any operating savings are subject to assumptions, estimates and significant economic, competitive and other uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. If these estimates and assumptions are incorrect, if we experience delays or if other unforeseen events occur, our business and financial results could be adversely affected.

Any transformation initiatives or future restructuring actions we undertake may fail to achieve the anticipated results and may materially adversely affect our business and financial results.

Our ability to design and introduce new products in a timely manner is dependent upon third-party intellectual property.

In the design and development of new and enhanced products, we rely on third-party intellectual property such as software development tools and hardware testing tools. Furthermore, certain product features may rely on intellectual property acquired from third parties. The design requirements necessary to meet consumer demand for more features and greater functionality from semiconductor products may exceed the capabilities of the third-party intellectual property or development tools available to us. If the third-party intellectual property that we use becomes unavailable, is not available with required functionality and performance in the time frame or price point needed for our new products or fails to produce designs that meet customer demands, our business could be materially adversely affected.

We depend on third-party companies for the design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software and other computer platform components to support our business.

We depend on third-party companies for the design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software (e.g., BIOS, operating systems) and other components that our customers utilize to support our microprocessor, GPU and APU offerings. We also rely on AIBs to support our GPU and APU products. In addition, our microprocessors are not designed to function with motherboards and chipsets designed to work with Intel microprocessors. If the designers, manufacturers, AIBs and suppliers of motherboards, software and other components decrease their support for our product offerings, our business could be materially adversely affected.

If we lose Microsoft Corporation’s support for our products or other software vendors do not design and develop software to run on our products, our ability to sell our products could be materially adversely affected.

Our ability to innovate beyond the x86 instruction set controlled by Intel depends partially on Microsoft designing and developing its operating systems to run on or support our x86-based microprocessor products. With respect to our graphics products, we depend in part on Microsoft to design and develop its operating system to run on or support our graphics products. Similarly, the success of our products in the market, such as our APU products, is dependent on independent software providers designing and developing software to run on our products. If Microsoft does not continue to design and develop its operating systems so that they work with our x86 instruction sets or does not continue to develop and maintain their operating

 

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systems to support our graphics products, independent software providers may forego designing their software applications to take advantage of our innovations and customers may not purchase PCs with our products. In addition, some software drivers sold with our products are certified by Microsoft. If Microsoft did not certify a driver, or if we otherwise fail to retain the support of Microsoft or other software vendors, our ability to market our products would be materially adversely affected.

Our reliance on third-party distributors and AIB partners subjects us to certain risks.

We market and sell our products directly and through third-party distributors and AIB partners pursuant to agreements that can generally be terminated for convenience by either party upon prior notice to the other party. These agreements are non-exclusive and permit both our distributors and AIBs to offer our competitors’ products. We are dependent on our distributors and AIBs to supplement our direct marketing and sales efforts. If any significant distributor or AIB or a substantial number of our distributors or AIBs terminated their relationship with us, decided to market our competitors’ products over our products or decided not to market our products at all, our ability to bring our products to market would be impacted and we would be materially adversely affected. If we are unable to manage the risks related to the use of our third-party distributors and AIB partners or offer appropriate incentives to focus them on the sale of our products, our business could be materially adversely affected.

Additionally, distributors and AIBs typically maintain an inventory of our products. In most instances, our agreements with distributors protect their inventory of our products against price reductions, as well as provide return rights for any product that we have removed from our price book and that is not more than 12 months older than the manufacturing code date. Some agreements with our distributors also contain standard stock rotation provisions permitting limited levels of product returns. Our agreements with AIBs protect their inventory of our products against price reductions. We defer the gross margins on our sales to distributors and AIBs, resulting from both our deferral of revenue and related product costs, until the applicable products are re-sold by the distributors or the AIBs. However, in the event of a significant decline in the price of our products, the price protection rights we offer would materially adversely affect us because our revenue and corresponding gross margin would decline.

Our inability to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel may hinder our product development programs.

Much of our future success depends upon the continued service of numerous qualified engineering, marketing, sales and executive personnel. If we are not able to continue to attract, train and retain qualified personnel necessary for our business, the progress of our product development programs could be hindered, and we could be materially adversely affected. To help attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, we use share-based incentive awards such as employee stock options and non-vested share units (restricted stock units). If the value of such stock awards does not appreciate as measured by the performance of the price of our common stock, or if our share-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, our ability to attract, retain and motivate personnel could be weakened, which could harm our results of operations. In addition, our current and any future restructuring plans may adversely impact our ability to attract and retain key employees.

In the event of a change of control, we may not be able to purchase our outstanding debt as required by the applicable indentures and our Secured Revolving Line of Credit, which would result in a default under the indentures and our Secured Revolving Line of Credit.

Upon a change of control, we will be required to offer to purchase all of our Senior Notes then outstanding at 101% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, up to, but excluding, the purchase date. In addition, a change of control would be an event of default under our Secured Revolving Line

 

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of Credit. As of June 25, 2016, $226 million was outstanding under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit and $2.03 billion was outstanding under our notes. Future debt agreements may contain similar provisions. We may not have the financial resources to purchase our outstanding notes and prepay all of our outstanding obligations under our Secured Revolving Line of Credit.

The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and has experienced severe downturns that have materially adversely affected, and may continue to materially adversely affect, our business in the future.

The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and has experienced significant downturns, often in conjunction with constant and rapid technological change, wide fluctuations in supply and demand, continuous new product introductions, price erosion and declines in general economic conditions. We have incurred substantial losses in recent downturns, due to:

 

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substantial declines in average selling prices;

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the cyclical nature of supply and demand imbalances in the semiconductor industry;

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a decline in demand for end-user products (such as PCs) that incorporate our products; and

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excess inventory levels.

Industry-wide fluctuations in the computer marketplace have materially adversely affected us in the past and may materially adversely affect us in the future. For example, form factor devices continue to shift from desktop PCs and notebooks to smaller form factor devices. A large portion of our Computing and Graphics revenue is focused on consumer desktop PC and notebook segments, which have experienced and continue to experience a decline driven by, among other factors, the adoption of smaller form factors, increased competition and changes in replacement cycles.

Global economic uncertainty and weakness have also impacted the semiconductor market as consumers and businesses have deferred purchases, which negatively impacted demand for our products. Our financial performance has been, and may in the future be, negatively affected by these downturns.

The growth of our business is also dependent on continued demand for our products from high-growth adjacent emerging global markets. Our ability to be successful in such markets depends in part on our ability to establish adequate local infrastructure, as well as our ability to cultivate and maintain local relationships in these markets. If demand from these markets is below our expectations, sales of our products may decrease, which would have a material adverse effect on us.

Acquisitions, divestitures and/or joint ventures could disrupt our business, harm our financial condition and operating results or dilute, or adversely affect the price of, our common stock.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to expand our product offerings and grow our business in response to changing technologies, customer demands and competitive pressures. In some circumstances, we may pursue growth through the acquisition of complementary businesses, solutions or technologies or through divestitures or joint ventures rather than through internal development. The identification of suitable acquisition or joint venture candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified acquisitions or joint ventures. Moreover, if such acquisitions or joint ventures require us to seek additional debt or equity financing, we may not be able to obtain such financing on terms favorable to us or at all. Even if we successfully complete an acquisition or a joint venture, we may not be able to assimilate and integrate effectively or efficiently the acquired business, technologies, solutions, assets, personnel or operations, particularly if key personnel of the acquired company decide not to work for us. Acquisitions and joint ventures may also involve the entry into geographic or business markets in which we have little or no prior experience. Consequently, we may not achieve anticipated benefits of the acquisitions or joint ventures which could harm our operating results. In addition, to complete an acquisition, we may issue

 

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equity securities, which would dilute our stockholders’ ownership and could adversely affect the price of our common stock, as well as incur debt, assume contingent liabilities or have amortization expenses and write-downs of acquired assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Acquisitions and joint ventures may also reduce our cash available for operations and other uses, which could harm our business. Also, any failure on our part to effectively evaluate and execute new business initiatives could adversely affect our business. We may not adequately assess the risk of new business initiatives and subsequent events may arise that alter the risks that were initially considered.

We may not achieve the objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services.

On April 29, 2016, we consummated the transaction contemplated by the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 15, 2015 with JV Party, under which we sold to JV Party 85% of the equity interests in our JVs. Going forward, we expect the majority of our ATMP services will be provided by the JVs and there is no guarantee that the JVs will be able to adequately fulfill our ATMP requirements as we transition operations to the JV Party, nor is there any guarantee that the JVs will be able to fulfill our long-term ATMP requirements. If we are unable to meet customer demand due to fluctuating or late supply from the JVs, it could result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may not realize the anticipated benefits from any new business initiatives. For example, in connection with our strategy of licensing portions of our intellectual property portfolio, in the first quarter of 2016, we entered into a joint venture with and Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co., Ltd. (“THATIC”), comprised of two separate legal entities, China JV1 and China JV2 (collectively, the “China JVs”). The China JVs’ primary purpose is to support our expansion into the server and workstation product market in China. We also licensed certain of our intellectual property (“Licensed IP”) to the China JVs for license fees payable over several years contingent upon achievement of certain milestones. We also expect to receive a royalty based on the sales of the China JVs’ products to be developed on the basis of such Licensed IP. We may not realize the expected benefits from this joint venture, including the China JVs’ expected future performance, the receipt of any future milestone payments from the Licensed IP, and the receipt of any royalty payments from future sales of the China JVs’ products.

Our business is dependent upon the proper functioning of our internal business processes and information systems and modification or interruption of such systems may disrupt our business, processes and internal controls.

We rely upon a number of internal business processes and information systems to support key business functions, and the efficient operation of these processes and systems is critical to our business. Our business processes and information systems need to be sufficiently scalable to support the growth of our business and may require modifications or upgrades that expose us to a number of operational risks. As such, our information systems will continually evolve and adapt in order to meet our business needs. These changes may be costly and disruptive to our operations and could impose substantial demands on management time.

These changes may also require changes in our information systems, modification of internal control procedures and significant training of employees and third-party resources. We continuously work on simplifying our information systems and applications through consolidation and standardization efforts. There can be no assurance that our business and operations will not experience any disruption in connection with this transition. Our information technology systems, and those of third-party information technology providers or business partners, may also be vulnerable to damage or disruption caused by circumstances beyond our control including catastrophic events, power anomalies or outages, natural disasters, viruses or malware, cyber-attacks, data breaches and computer system or network failures, exposing us to significant cost, reputational harm and disruption or damage to our business.

In addition, as our IT environment continues to evolve, we are embracing new ways of communicating and sharing data internally and externally with customers and partners using methods such as mobility and the

 

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cloud that can promote business efficiency. However, these practices can also result in a more distributed IT environment, making it more difficult for us to maintain visibility and control over internal and external users, and meet scalability and administrative requirements. If our security controls cannot keep pace with the speed of these changes, or if we are not able to meet regulatory and compliance requirements, our business would be materially adversely affected.

Data breaches and cyber-attacks could compromise our intellectual property or other sensitive information, be costly to remediate and cause significant damage to our business and reputation.

In the ordinary course of our business, we maintain sensitive data on our networks, including our intellectual property and proprietary or confidential business information relating to our business and that of our customers and business partners. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our business and reputation. We believe that companies have been increasingly subject to a wide variety of security incidents, cyber-attacks, hacking and phishing attacks, and other attempts to gain unauthorized access. These threats can come from a variety of sources, all ranging in sophistication from an individual hacker to a state-sponsored attack. Cyber threats may be generic, or they may be custom-crafted against our information systems. Over the past year, cyber-attacks have become more prevalent and much harder to detect and defend against. Our network and storage applications may be subject to unauthorized access by hackers or breached due to operator error, malfeasance or other system disruptions. It is often difficult to anticipate or immediately detect such incidents and the damage caused by such incidents. These data breaches and any unauthorized access or disclosure of our information or intellectual property could compromise our intellectual property and expose sensitive business information. Cyber-attacks could also cause us to incur significant remediation costs, result in product development delays, disrupt key business operations and divert attention of management and key information technology resources. These incidents could also subject us to liability, expose us to significant expense and cause significant harm to our reputation and business. In addition, we could be subject to potential claims for damages resulting from loss of data from alleged vulnerabilities in the security of our processors. We also maintain confidential and personally identifiable information about our workers. The integrity and protection of our worker data is critical to our business and our workers have a high expectation that we will adequately protect their personal information. We anticipate an increase in costs related to:

 

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implementing new data security procedures, including costs related to upgrading computer and network security;

 

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training workers to maintain and monitor our security measures;

 

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remediating any data security breach and addressing the related litigation; and

 

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mitigating reputational harm.

We often partner with third-party providers for certain worker services and we may provide certain limited worker information to such third parties based on the scope of the services provided to us. However, if these third parties fail to adopt or adhere to adequate data security practices, or in the event of a breach of their networks, our workers’ data may be improperly accessed, used or disclosed. A breach of data privacy is likely to cause significant disruption of our business operations. Failure to adequately maintain and update our security systems could materially adversely affect our operations and our ability to maintain worker confidence. Failure to prevent unauthorized access to electronic and other confidential information and data breaches could materially adversely affect our financial condition, our competitive position and operating results.

Our operating results are subject to quarterly and seasonal sales patterns.

A substantial portion of our quarterly sales have historically been made in the last month of the quarter. This uneven sales pattern makes prediction of revenue for each financial period difficult and increases the risk of

 

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unanticipated variations in quarterly results and financial condition. In addition, our operating results tend to vary seasonally with the markets in which our products are sold. For example, historically, first quarter PC product sales are generally lower than fourth quarter sales. In addition, with respect to our semi-custom SoC products for game consoles, we expect sales patterns to follow the seasonal trends of a consumer business with sales in the first half of the year being lower than sales in the second half of the year. Many of the factors that create and affect quarterly and seasonal trends are beyond our control.

If essential equipment, materials or manufacturing processes are not available to manufacture our products, we could be materially adversely affected.

We purchase equipment and materials for our internal back-end manufacturing operations from a number of suppliers and our operations depend upon obtaining deliveries of adequate supplies of equipment and materials on a timely basis. Our third-party suppliers also depend on the same timely delivery of adequate quantities of equipment and materials in the manufacture of our products. In addition, as many of our products increase in technical complexity, we rely on our third-party suppliers to update their processes in order to continue meeting our back-end manufacturing needs. Certain equipment and materials that are used in the manufacture of our products are available only from a limited number of suppliers, or in some cases, a sole supplier. We also depend on a limited number of suppliers to provide the majority of certain types of integrated circuit packages for our microprocessors, including our APU products. Similarly, certain non-proprietary materials or components such as memory, printed circuit boards (“PCBs”), interposers, substrates and capacitors used in the manufacture of our products are currently available from only a limited number of sources. Because some of the equipment and materials that we and our third-party manufacturing suppliers purchase are complex, it is sometimes difficult to substitute one supplier for another.

From time to time, suppliers may extend lead times, limit supply or increase prices due to capacity constraints or other factors. Also, some of these materials and components may be subject to rapid changes in price and availability. Interruption of supply or increased demand in the industry could cause shortages and price increases in various essential materials. Dependence on a sole supplier or a limited number of suppliers exacerbates these risks. If we are unable to procure certain of these materials for our back-end manufacturing operations, or our third-party foundries or manufacturing suppliers are unable to procure materials for manufacturing our products, our business would be materially adversely affected.

If our products are not compatible with some or all industry-standard software and hardware, we could be materially adversely affected.

Our products may not be fully compatible with some or all industry-standard software and hardware. Further, we may be unsuccessful in correcting any such compatibility problems in a timely manner. If our customers are unable to achieve compatibility with software or hardware, we could be materially adversely affected. In addition, the mere announcement of an incompatibility problem relating to our products could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Costs related to defective products could have a material adverse effect on us.

Products as complex as those we offer may contain defects or failures when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements to existing products are released. We cannot assure you that, despite our testing procedures, errors will not be found in new products or releases after commencement of commercial shipments in the future, which could result in loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products, material recall and replacement costs, delay in recognition or loss of revenue, writing down the inventory of defective products, the diversion of the attention of our engineering personnel from product development efforts, defending against litigation related to defective products or related property damage or personal injury and damage to our

 

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reputation in the industry and could adversely affect our relationships with our customers. In addition, we may have difficulty identifying the end customers of the defective products in the field. As a result, we could incur substantial costs to implement modifications to correct defects. Any of these problems could materially adversely affect our business.

We could be subject to potential product liability claims if one of our products causes, or merely appears to have caused, an injury. Claims may be made by consumers or others selling our products, and we may be subject to claims against us even if an alleged injury is due to the actions of others. A product liability claim, recall or other claim with respect to uninsured liabilities or for amounts in excess of insured liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business.

If we fail to maintain the efficiency of our supply chain as we respond to changes in customer demand for our products, our business could be materially adversely affected.

Our ability to meet customer demand for our products depends, in part, on our ability to deliver the products our customers want on a timely basis. Accordingly, we rely on our supply chain for the manufacturing, distribution and fulfillment of our products. As we continue to grow our business, expand to high-growth adjacent markets, acquire new customers and strengthen relationships with existing customers, the efficiency of our supply chain will become increasingly important because many of our customers tend to have specific requirements for particular products, and specific time-frames in which they require delivery of these products. If we are unable to consistently deliver the right products to our customers on a timely basis in the right locations, our customers may reduce the quantities they order from us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We outsource to third parties certain supply-chain logistics functions, including portions of our product distribution, transportation management and information technology support services.

We rely on third-party providers to operate our regional product distribution centers and to manage the transportation of our work-in-process and finished products among our facilities, to our manufacturing suppliers and to our customers. In addition, we rely on third parties to provide certain information technology services to us, including help desk support, desktop application services, business and software support applications, server and storage administration, data center operations, database administration and voice, video and remote access. We cannot guarantee that these providers will fulfill their respective responsibilities in a timely manner in accordance with the contract terms, in which case our internal operations and the distribution of our products to our customers could be materially adversely affected. Also, we cannot guarantee that our contracts with these third-party providers will be renewed, in which case we would have to transition these functions in-house or secure new providers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business if the transition is not executed appropriately.

We may incur future impairments of goodwill.

We perform our annual goodwill impairment analysis as of the first day of the fourth quarter of each year. Subsequent to our annual goodwill impairment analysis, we monitor for any events or changes in circumstances, such as significant adverse changes in business climate or operating results, changes in management’s business strategy, an inability to successfully introduce new products in the marketplace, an inability to successfully achieve internal forecasts or significant declines in our stock price, which may represent an indicator of impairment. The occurrence of any of these events may require us to record future goodwill impairment charges.

 

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Our worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

We maintain operations around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. We rely on third-party wafer foundries in Europe and Asia. Nearly all product assembly and final testing of our products is performed at manufacturing facilities, operated by third-party manufacturing facilities, in China, Malaysia and Taiwan. We also have international sales operations. International sales, as a percent of net revenue, were 77% in the second quarter of 2016. We expect that international sales will continue to be a significant portion of total sales in the foreseeable future.

The political, legal and economic risks associated with our operations in foreign countries include, without limitation:

 

•

expropriation;

 

•

changes in a specific country’s or region’s political or economic conditions;

 

•

changes in tax laws, trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements;

 

•

difficulties in protecting our intellectual property;

 

•

difficulties in managing staffing and exposure to different employment practices and labor laws;

 

•

changes in foreign currency exchange rates;

 

•

restrictions on transfers of funds and other assets of our subsidiaries between jurisdictions;

 

•

changes in freight and interest rates;

 

•

disruption in air transportation between the United States and our overseas facilities;

 

•

loss or modification of exemptions for taxes and tariffs; and

 

•

compliance with U.S. laws and regulations related to international operations, including export control and economic sanctions laws and regulations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In addition, our worldwide operations (or those of our business partners) could be subject to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, typhoons and volcanic eruptions that disrupt manufacturing or other operations. For example, our Sunnyvale operations are located near major earthquake fault lines in California. Any conflict or uncertainty in the countries in which we operate, including public health issues (for example, an outbreak of a contagious disease such as Avian Influenza, measles or Ebola), safety issues, natural disasters, fire, disruptions of service from utilities, nuclear power plant accidents or general economic or political factors, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any of the above risks, should they occur, could result in an increase in the cost of components, production delays, general business interruptions, delays from difficulties in obtaining export licenses for certain technology, tariffs and other barriers and restrictions, longer payment cycles, increased taxes, restrictions on the repatriation of funds and the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws, any of which could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business.

Worldwide political conditions may adversely affect demand for our products.

Worldwide political conditions may create uncertainties that could adversely affect our business. The United States has been and may continue to be involved in armed conflicts that could have a further impact on our sales and our supply chain. The consequences of armed conflict, political instability or civil or military unrest

 

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are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have a material adverse effect on us. Terrorist attacks or other hostile acts may negatively affect our operations, or adversely affect demand for our products, and such attacks or related armed conflicts may impact our physical facilities or those of our suppliers or customers. Furthermore, these attacks or hostile acts may make travel and the transportation of our products more difficult and more expensive, which could materially adversely affect us. Any of these events could cause consumer spending to decrease or result in increased volatility in the United States economy and worldwide financial markets.

Unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect us.

We have costs, assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies. As a consequence, movements in exchange rates could cause our foreign currency denominated expenses to increase as a percentage of revenue, affecting our profitability and cash flows. Whenever we believe appropriate, we hedge a portion of our short-term foreign currency exposure to protect against fluctuations in currency exchange rates. We determine our total foreign currency exposure using projections of long-term expenditures for items such as payroll. We cannot assure you that these activities will be effective in reducing foreign exchange rate exposure. Failure to do so could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. In addition, the majority of our product sales are denominated in U.S. dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the local currency can cause increases or decreases in the cost of our products in the local currency of such customers. An appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the local currency could reduce sales of our products.

Our inability to effectively control the sales of our products on the gray market could have a material adverse effect on us.

We market and sell our products directly to OEMs and through authorized third-party distributors. From time to time, our products are diverted from our authorized distribution channels and are sold on the “gray market.” Gray market products result in shadow inventory that is not visible to us, thus making it difficult to forecast demand accurately. Also, when gray market products enter the market, we and our distribution channels compete with these heavily discounted gray market products, which adversely affects demand for our products and negatively impact our margins. In addition, our inability to control gray market activities could result in customer satisfaction issues because any time products are purchased outside our authorized distribution channels there is a risk that our customers are buying counterfeit or substandard products, including products that may have been altered, mishandled or damaged, or are used products represented as new.

If we cannot adequately protect our technology or other intellectual property in the United States and abroad, through patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks and other measures, we may lose a competitive advantage and incur significant expenses.

We rely on a combination of protections provided by contracts, including confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, copyrights, patents, trademarks and common law rights, such as trade secrets, to protect our intellectual property. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to adequately protect our technology or other intellectual property from third-party infringement or from misappropriation in the United States and abroad. Any patent licensed by us or issued to us could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented or rights granted there under may not provide a competitive advantage to us.

Furthermore, patent applications that we file may not result in issuance of a patent or, if a patent is issued, the patent may not be issued in a form that is advantageous to us. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, others may independently develop similar products, duplicate our products or design around

 

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our patents and other rights. In addition, it is difficult to monitor compliance with, and enforce, our intellectual property on a worldwide basis in a cost-effective manner. In jurisdictions where foreign laws provide less intellectual property protection than afforded in the United States and abroad, our technology or other intellectual property may be compromised, and our business would be materially adversely affected.

We are party to litigation and may become a party to other claims or litigation that could cause us to incur substantial costs or pay substantial damages or prohibit us from selling our products.

From time to time, we are a defendant or plaintiff in various legal actions. For example, on January 15, 2014, March 20, 2014, April 27, 2015 and September 29, 2015, complaints were filed against us seeking damages for alleged securities law violations which are described in Note 11 of our condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 25, 2016. Our products are purchased by and/or used by consumers, which could increase our exposure to consumer actions such as product liability claims and consumer class action claims. On occasion, we receive claims that individuals were allegedly exposed to substances used in our former semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities and that this alleged exposure caused harm. Litigation can involve complex factual and legal questions, and its outcome is uncertain. Any claim that is successfully asserted against us, including the claims filed against us on January 15, 2014, March 20, 2014, April 27, 2015 and September 29, 2015, may result in the payment of damages that could be material to our business.

With respect to intellectual property litigation, from time to time, we have been notified of, or third parties may bring or have brought, actions against us and/or against our customers based on allegations that we are infringing the intellectual property rights of others, contributing to or inducing the infringement of the intellectual property rights of others, improperly claiming ownership of intellectual property or otherwise improperly using the intellectual property of others. If any such claims are asserted, we may seek to obtain a license under the third parties’ intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain all of the necessary licenses on satisfactory terms, if at all. These parties may file lawsuits against us or our customers seeking damages (potentially up to and including treble damages) or an injunction against the sale of products that incorporate allegedly infringed intellectual property or against the operation of our business as presently conducted, which could result in our having to stop the sale of some of our products or to increase the costs of selling some of our products or which could damage our reputation. The award of damages, including material royalty payments, or other types of damages, or the entry of an injunction against the manufacture and sale of some or all of our products could have a material adverse effect on us. We could decide, in the alternative, to redesign our products or to resort to litigation to challenge such claims. Such challenges could be extremely expensive and time-consuming regardless of their merit, could cause delays in product release or shipment and/or could have a material adverse effect on us. We cannot assure you that litigation related to our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others can always be avoided or successfully concluded.

Even if we were to prevail, any litigation could be costly and time-consuming and would divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Our business is subject to potential tax liabilities.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States, Canada and other foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the final determination of any tax audits and litigation will not be materially different from that which is reflected in

 

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historical income tax provisions and accruals. Should additional taxes be assessed as a result of an audit, assessment or litigation, there could be a material adverse effect on our cash, income tax provision and net income in the period or periods for which that determination is made.

We are subject to environmental laws, conflict minerals-related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as well as a variety of other laws or regulations that could result in additional costs and liabilities.

Our operations and properties have in the past been and continue to be subject to various United States and foreign laws and regulations, including those relating to materials used in our products and manufacturing processes, discharge of pollutants into the environment, the treatment, transport, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes and remediation of contamination. These laws and regulations require our suppliers to obtain permits for operations making our products, including the discharge of air pollutants and wastewater. Although our management systems are designed to oversee our suppliers’ compliance, we cannot assure you that our suppliers have been or will be at all times in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If our suppliers violate or fail to comply with any of them, a range of consequences could result, including fines, suspension of production, alteration of manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other sanctions. Such non-compliance from our manufacturing suppliers could result in disruptions in supply, higher sourcing costs, and/or reputational damage for us.

Environmental laws are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. For example, the European Union (“EU”) and China are two among a growing number of jurisdictions that have enacted restrictions on the use of lead and other materials in electronic products. These regulations affect semiconductor devices and packaging. As regulations restricting materials in electronic products continue to increase around the world, there is a risk that the cost, quality and manufacturing yields of products that are subject to these restrictions, may be less favorable compared to products that are not subject to such restrictions, or that the transition to compliant products may not meet customer roadmaps, or produce sudden changes in demand, which may result in excess inventory. A number of jurisdictions including the EU, Australia and China are developing or have finalized market entry or public procurement regulations for computers and servers based on ENERGY STAR specifications as well as additional energy consumption limits. There is the potential for certain of our products being excluded from some of these markets which could materially adversely affect us.

Certain environmental laws, including the U.S. Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, or the Superfund Act, impose strict or, under certain circumstances, joint and several liability on current and previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances and impose liability for damages to natural resources. These laws often impose liability even if the owner or operator did not know of, or was not responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. These environmental laws also assess liability on persons who arrange for hazardous substances to be sent to disposal or treatment facilities when such facilities are found to be contaminated. Such persons can be responsible for cleanup costs even if they never owned or operated the contaminated facility. We have been named as a responsible party at three Superfund sites in Sunnyvale, California. Although we have not yet been, we could be named a potentially responsible party at other Superfund or contaminated sites in the future. In addition, contamination that has not yet been identified could exist at our other facilities.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC adopted disclosure and reporting requirements for companies that use “conflict” minerals originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries. We continue to incur additional costs associated with complying with these requirements, such as costs related to developing internal controls for the due diligence process,

 

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determining the source of any conflict minerals used in our products, auditing the process and reporting to our customers and the SEC. In addition to the SEC regulation, the European Union, China and other jurisdictions are developing new policies focused on conflict minerals that may impact and increase the cost of our compliance program. Also, since our supply chain is complex, we may face reputational challenges if we are unable to sufficiently verify the origins of the subject minerals. Moreover, we are likely to encounter challenges to satisfy those customers who require that all of the components of our products are certified as “conflict free.” If we cannot satisfy these customers, they may choose a competitor’s products.

Recently the US federal government has issued new policies for federal procurement focused on eradicating the practice of forced labor and human trafficking. In addition, the United Kingdom and the state of California have issued laws that require AMD to disclose its policy and practices for identifying and eliminating forced labor and human trafficking in our supply chain. Several customers as well as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”) have also issued expectations to eliminate these practices that may impact AMD. While we have a policy and management systems to identify and avoid these practices in our supply chain, we cannot guarantee that AMD’s suppliers will always be in conformance to these laws and expectations. We may face enforcement liability and reputational challenges if we are unable to sufficiently meet these expectations. Moreover, we are likely to encounter challenges with customers if we cannot satisfy their forced and trafficked labor polices and they may choose a competitor’s products.

Risks related to our common stock

The price of our common stock may be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations.

The trading price of our common stock has historically fluctuated significantly. From December 29, 2013 (the beginning of our first fiscal quarter for 2014) to September 2, 2016, our stock has had low and high sales prices in the range of $1.61 to $8.00 per share. The price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in the future in response to many events or factors, including those discussed in the risk factors above, as well as:

 

•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in operating results;

 

•

changes in expectations as to future financial performance or buy/sell recommendations of securities analysts;

 

•

our, or a competitor’s, announcement of new products, services or innovations; and

 

•

the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies.

General market conditions and domestic or international macroeconomic factors unrelated to our performance may also affect the price of our common stock. For these reasons, investors should not rely on recent trends to predict future prices of our common stock or financial results.

This offering is not conditioned on the consummation of any other financing, and we may invest or spend the net proceeds of this offering in ways with which you may not agree.

We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering, together with the proceeds from the Convertible Notes Offering, to repay up to $226 million of our borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and to purchase up to $1,020 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes validly tendered pursuant to concurrent tender offers (assuming no proceeds are used for the repayment of the borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement). We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes, as described under “Use of Proceeds.” We cannot assure you which Senior Note holders will tender their notes.

 

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However, neither the completion of this offering nor of the Convertible Notes Offering is contingent on the completion of the other, so it is possible that this offering occurs and the Convertible Notes Offering does not occur, and vice versa. If the anticipated Convertible Notes Offering is not completed, we anticipate the proceeds of this offering will be used to repay borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and to purchase up to $355.3 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes. We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.” You may not agree with the ways we decide to use these proceeds.

If we complete the Convertible Notes Offering, conversion of such Convertible Notes may dilute the ownership interest of existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of our common stock.

If we complete the Convertible Notes Offering, conversion of some or all of such Convertible Notes will dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders to the extent we deliver shares upon conversion of any of such Convertible Notes. Such Convertible Notes may become convertible at the option of their holders prior to their scheduled terms under certain circumstances. Any sales in the public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the existence of such Convertible Notes may encourage short selling by market participants because the conversion of such Convertible Notes could be used to satisfy short positions, or anticipated conversion of such Convertible Notes into shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.

Our issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect holders of common stock.

Our board of directors is authorized to issue series of preferred stock without any action on the part of our holders of common stock. Our board of directors also has the power, without stockholder approval, to set the terms of any such series of preferred stock that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights, preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends or if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our business and other terms. If we issue preferred stock in the future that has preference over our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, or if we issue preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our common stock, the rights of holders of our common stock or the price of our common stock could be adversely affected.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may make an acquisition of us more difficult.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may make an acquisition of us more difficult. These provisions:

 

•

authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval and to designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each class; if issued, such preferred stock would increase the number of outstanding shares of our capital stock and could include terms that may deter an acquisition of us;

 

•

establish advanced notice requirements for nominations to the board of directors or for proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings; and

 

•

limit who may call stockholder meetings.

In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may prohibit large stockholders from consummating a merger with, or acquisition of, us.

These provisions may deter an acquisition of us that might otherwise be attractive to stockholders.

 

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We have no present intention of paying dividends on our common stock.

We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and have no present plans to do so. In addition, under the terms of the agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness, including the indentures governing our Senior Notes and the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, we are limited in our ability to pay cash dividends unless we obtain the written consent of the applicable lenders and bondholders.

 

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Use of proceeds

We estimate that our net proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock in this offering will be approximately $581.3 million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their option pursuant to this offering to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $668.6 million after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

We anticipate that we will use the net proceeds of this offering, together with the net proceeds of the Convertible Notes Offering, which we anticipate will be approximately $439.1 million, to repay up to $226 million of our borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement (the Secured Revolving Line of Credit thereunder matures on April 14, 2020, and at June 25, 2016 and December 27, 2015, has an outstanding loan balance of $226 million and $230 million at an interest rate of 4.25% and 4.00%, respectively) and to purchase up to $1,020 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes (assuming no proceeds are used for the repayment of the borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement). We cannot assure you which Senior Note holders will tender their notes. We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Neither the completion of this offering nor of the Convertible Notes Offering is contingent on the completion of the other, so it is possible that this offering occurs and the anticipated Convertible Notes Offering does not occur, and vice versa. If the Convertible Notes Offering is not completed, we anticipate the proceeds of this offering will be used to repay borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and to purchase up to $355.3 million aggregate total consideration of our Senior Notes. We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer with any remaining net proceeds. Any remaining net proceeds will be used for capital expenditures, working capital and other general corporate purposes.

 

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Capitalization

The following table sets forth our consolidated cash and cash equivalents and our consolidated capitalization as of June 25, 2016 on:

 

•

an actual basis; and

 

•

on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give effect to (i) the sale of 79,893,475 shares of our common stock offered in this offering, assuming a public offering price of $7.51 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on NASDAQ on September 2, 2016, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option), (ii) the consummation of the Convertible Notes Offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option) and (iii) the application of the net proceeds of this offering and the net proceeds of the Convertible Notes Offering, as described in “Use of Proceeds.”

The information in this table is illustrative only and our capitalization following the completion of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. You should read this table in conjunction with the entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

		As of June 25, 2016
(In millions, except per share amounts)		Actual				Pro forma as adjusted for this offering and the concurrent convertible notes offering
		(unaudited)
Cash and cash equivalents		$	957			$	957
Short-term debt		$	226			$	—	(1)
Long-term debt:
Existing Senior Notes(2)			2,002				1,251	(3)
% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026(4)			—				450	(4)
Unamortized financing costs on     % Convertible Senior Notes due 2026			—				(11	)
Total long-term debt			2,002				1,690
Total debt(5)		$	2,228			$	1,690
Stockholders’ equity (deficit):
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 1,500 shares authorized, 810 shares issued and 795 shares outstanding, actual; 875 shares issued and outstanding, as adjusted(6)			8				9
Additional paid-in capital			7,053				7,633
Treasury stock, at cost (14 shares)			(125	)			(125	)
Accumulated deficit(7)			(7,346	)			(7,389	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(3	)			(3	)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)			(413	)			125
Total capitalization		$	1,815			$	1,815

 

(1)

Reflects the full repayment of $226 million of our borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement. We may choose to use $226 million of the net proceeds of this offering, together with the net proceeds of the Convertible Notes Offering, to repay such borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement or instead use such amount to repurchase additional Senior Notes, as described in footnote (3) below.

 

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(2)

Reflects adoption of FASB ASU 2015-03, “Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs,” beginning in the first quarter of 2016.

 

(3)

Reflects an assumed repayment of $226 million of our borrowings under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and our offer to purchase up to $795 million maximum aggregate total consideration of our existing Senior Notes pursuant to the concurrent tender offers described in “Prospectus Supplement Summary—Purchase of Senior Notes.” The notes will be prioritized in the following order, to the extent holders validly tender their notes: 6.75% Senior Notes due 2019, 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020, 7.50% Senior Notes due 2022 and 7.00% Senior Notes due 2024. We cannot assure you which Senior Note holders will tender their notes. We have the option, but not the obligation, to call any and all of the untendered 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 after the completion of the Tender Offer with any remaining net proceeds.

 

(4)

In accordance with ASC 470-20, convertible debt that may be wholly or partially settled in cash is required to be separated into a liability and an equity component, such that interest expense reflects the issuer’s non-convertible debt interest rate. Upon issuance, a debt discount is recognized as a decrease in debt and an increase in equity. The debt component will accrete up to the principal amount ($450 million for the Convertible Notes assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option) over the expected term of the debt. ASC 470-20 does not affect the actual amount that we are required to repay, and the amount shown in the table above for Convertible Notes is the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes and does not reflect the debt discount that we will be required to recognize in our consolidated balance sheet.

 

(5)

Total debt reflects net book value of short-term and long-term debt.

 

(6)

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering set forth above excludes:

 

•

22.4 million shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of June 25, 2016 at a weighted-average exercise price of $4.14 per share;

 

•

51.5 million shares of our common stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of June 25, 2016;

 

•

55.0 million shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans as of June 25, 2016;

 

•

75.0 million shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants as of August 30, 2016, with an exercise price of $5.98 per share (50 million of which cannot be exercised before August 30, 2017); and

 

•

The shares of our common stock reserved for issuance upon conversion of our         % Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 offered in the Convertible Notes Offering.

 

(7)

Increase to accumulated deficit primarily due to anticipated premiums in connection with the Tender Offer.

 

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Dilution

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock upon completion of this offering. Net tangible book value per share of our common stock is determined at any date by subtracting our total liabilities from the amount of our total tangible assets (total assets less intangible assets) and dividing the difference by the number of shares of our common stock deemed to be outstanding at that date.

Our historical net tangible book value as of June 25, 2016 was approximately $(702) million, or $(0.88) per share, based on 795 million shares of common stock outstanding as of June 25, 2016.

Investors participating in this offering will incur immediate, substantial dilution. After giving effect to our receipt of approximately $581.3 million of estimated net proceeds (after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us) from our sale of common stock in this offering, assuming a public offering price of $7.51 per share, the reported last sale price of our common stock on NASDAQ on September 2, 2016, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 25, 2016 would have been $(164) million, or $(0.19) per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.69 per share of our common stock to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $7.70 per share of our common stock to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering.

The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

 

Assumed public offering price per share						$	7.51
Historical net tangible book value per share as of June 25, 2016			$(0.88)
As adjusted increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to investors participating in this offering		$	0.69
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering							$(0.19	)
Dilution of as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors							$7.70

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding immediately following this offering set forth above excludes:

 

•

22.4 million shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of June 25, 2016 at a weighted-average exercise price of $4.14 per share;

 

•

51.5 million shares of our common stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of June 25, 2016;

 

•

55.0 million shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans as of June 25, 2016;

 

•

75.0 million shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants as of August 30, 2016, with an exercise price of $5.98 per share (50 million of which cannot be exercised before August 30, 2017); and

 

•

The shares of our common stock reserved for issuance upon conversion of our         % Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 offered in the Convertible Notes Offering.

 

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If the underwriters’ option pursuant to this offering to purchase additional shares of our common stock is exercised in full, the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering would be $(0.08) per share, which amount represents an immediate increase in as adjusted net tangible book value of $0.80 per share of our common stock to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $7.59 per share of our common stock to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering.

In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities or convertible debt, your ownership will be further diluted.

 

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Price range of common stock

Our common stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “AMD”. Prior to January 2, 2015, our common stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices for our common stock as reported on NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange:

 

		High				Low
Fiscal Year 2014 Quarters Ended:
March 29, 2014		$	4.60			$	3.29
June 28, 2014		$	4.50			$	3.65
September 27, 2014		$	4.80			$	3.60
December 27, 2014		$	3.66			$	2.35
Fiscal Year 2015 Quarters Ended:
March 28, 2015		$	3.37			$	2.14
June 27, 2015		$	2.94			$	2.20
September 26, 2015		$	2.63			$	1.61
December 26, 2015		$	3.00			$	1.65
Fiscal Year 2016 Quarters Ended:
March 26, 2016		$	3.06			$	1.75
June 25, 2016		$	5.52			$	2.60
Third Quarter (through September 2, 2016)		$	8.00			$	4.65

On September 2, 2016, the reported last sale price of our common stock on NASDAQ was $7.51. On September 1, 2016, there were approximately 6,244 holders of record of our common stock.

 

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Dividend policy

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. Additionally, the indentures governing our Senior Notes and the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement limit our ability to, among other things, pay dividends on our common stock. We currently do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws and compliance with any outstanding or future credit agreements and other loan arrangements, which may restrict or limit our ability to pay dividends, and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

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Description of capital stock

The following summary describes our capital stock and the material provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”). Because the following is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. For a complete description, you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, copies of which are on file with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

General

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 1.5 billion shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 1 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.10 per share.

Common stock

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted on by stockholders, including the election of directors. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulative voting rights, and, accordingly, the holders of a majority of the shares voting for the election of directors can elect the entire board if they choose to do so and, in that event, the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any person to the board of directors.

The holders of common stock are entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors, in its discretion, from funds legally available therefor and subject to prior dividend rights of holders of any shares of preferred stock which may be outstanding. However, the terms of certain of our borrowing arrangements restrict our ability to declare or pay dividends on our common stock in certain circumstances. Upon liquidation or dissolution of the company subject to prior liquidation rights of the holders of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive on a pro rata basis the remaining assets of the company available for distribution. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or other subscription rights, and there are no conversion rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions with respect to such shares. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and non-assessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be negatively impacted by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock which we may designate and issue in the future.

As of June 25, 2016, 795 million shares of our common stock were outstanding.

As of June 25, 2016, options to purchase 22.4 million shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $4.14 per share were outstanding.

As of June 25, 2016, 51.5 million shares of our common stock were issuable upon vesting of outstanding restricted stock units.

As of June 25, 2016, 55.0 million shares of our common stock were reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans.

As of August 30, 2016, warrants to purchase 75 million shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $5.98 per share were outstanding.

Undesignated preferred stock

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to designate and issue up to 1 million shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of our common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock upon the rights of holders of our common stock until our board of directors determines the specific rights of the holders of preferred stock. However, the effects might include, among other things,

 

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restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock, impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock and delaying or preventing a change in control of our common stock without further action by our stockholders and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. As of September 6, 2016, no shares of our preferred stock were outstanding.

Registration rights

No holders of our securities are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of their securities under the Securities Act of 1933 (as amended, the “Securities Act”), other than WCH. In connection with the Sixth Amendment, we entered into the First Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with WCH on August 30, 2016. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, we will prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement for an offering to be made on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 of the Securities Act registering the resale of our common stock from time to time by WCH and its affiliates. We shall cause such registration statement to be declared effective under the Securities Act no earlier than October 3, 2016, and we shall use our reasonable best efforts to keep such registration statement continuously effective under the Securities Act. WCH has entered into a lock-up agreement with the underwriters prior to the commencement of this offering, as described more fully in “Underwriting; conflicts of interest,” and will be subject to the restrictions in such lock-up agreement for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus.

Transfer agent and registrar

Our transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “AMD”.

 

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Material U.S. federal income tax consequences to Non-U.S. Holders

The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax effects. The effects of other U.S. federal tax laws, such as estate and gift tax laws, and any applicable state, local or non-U.S. tax laws are not discussed. This discussion is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial decisions, and published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), in each case in effect as of the date hereof. These authorities may change or be subject to differing interpretations. Any such change or differing interpretation may be applied retroactively in a manner that could adversely affect a Non-U.S. Holder. We have not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS regarding the matters discussed below. There can be no assurance the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position to that discussed below regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock.

This discussion is limited to Non-U.S. Holders that hold our common stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This summary only addresses holders that are treated as purchasing our common stock for cash for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a Non-U.S. Holder’s particular circumstances, including the impact of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income. In addition, it does not address consequences relevant to Non-U.S. Holders subject to special rules, including, without limitation:

 

•

U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;

 

•

persons subject to the alternative minimum tax;

 

•

persons holding our common stock as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment;

 

•

banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions;

 

•

brokers, dealers or traders in securities;

 

•

“controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;

 

•

entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);

 

•

tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;

 

•

persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;

 

•

persons who hold or receive our common stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation; and

 

•

tax-qualified retirement plans.

If an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Accordingly, partnerships holding our common stock and the partners in such partnerships should consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to them.

 

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THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT TAX ADVICE. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK ARISING UNDER THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.

Definition of Non-U.S. Holder

For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. Holder” is any beneficial owner of our common stock that is neither a “U.S. person” nor an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. person is any person that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:

 

•

an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

•

a corporation created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia;

 

•

an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or

 

•

a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and all substantial decisions of which are subject to the control of one or more “United States persons” (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code), or (2) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Distributions

As described in the section entitled “Dividend Policy,” we currently do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions of cash or property on our common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Amounts not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will constitute a return of capital and first be applied against and reduce a Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its common stock, but not below zero. Any excess will be treated as capital gain and will be treated as described below under “—Sale or Other Taxable Disposition.”

Subject to the discussion below on effectively connected income, dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty, provided the Non-U.S. Holder furnishes a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable documentation) certifying qualification for the lower treaty rate). A Non-U.S. Holder that does not timely furnish the required documentation, but that qualifies for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable tax treaties.

If dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such dividends are attributable), the Non-U.S. Holder will be exempt from the U.S. federal withholding tax described above. To claim the exemption, the Non-U.S. Holder must furnish to the applicable withholding agent a valid IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States.

 

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Any such effectively connected dividends will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular graduated rates. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on such effectively connected dividends, as adjusted for certain items. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable tax treaties that may provide for different rules.

Sale or other taxable disposition

A Non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock unless:

 

•

the gain is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such gain is attributable);

 

•

the Non-U.S. Holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements are met; or

 

•

we are or have been a U.S. real property holding corporation (“USRPHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes during the shorter of the Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period or the five-year period ending on the date of disposition of the common stock.

Gain described in the first bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates, generally in the same manner as if the Non-U.S. Holder were a U.S. person. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on such effectively connected gain, as adjusted for certain items.

Gain described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty), which may be offset by certain U.S. source capital losses of the Non-U.S. Holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided the Non-U.S. Holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.

With respect to the third bullet point above, we believe we currently are not, and do not anticipate becoming, a USRPHC.

Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable tax treaties that may provide for different rules.

Information reporting and backup withholding

Payments of dividends on our common stock will not be subject to backup withholding, provided the Non-U.S. Holder certifies its non-U.S. status, such as by furnishing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI, or otherwise establishes an exemption. However, information returns are required to be filed with the IRS in connection with any dividends on our common stock paid to the Non-U.S. Holder, regardless of whether any tax was actually withheld. In addition, proceeds of the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related brokers generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting if the applicable withholding agent receives the certification described above or the Non-U.S. Holder otherwise establishes an exemption. Proceeds of a disposition of our common stock conducted through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker that does not have certain enumerated relationships with the United States generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting.

 

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Copies of information returns that are filed with the IRS may also be made available under the provisions of an applicable treaty or agreement to the tax authorities of the country in which the Non-U.S. Holder resides or is established.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

Additional withholding tax on payments made to foreign accounts

Withholding taxes may be imposed under Sections 1471 to 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or “FATCA”) on certain types of payments made to non-U.S. financial institutions and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on dividends on, or gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our common stock paid to a “foreign financial institution” or a “non-financial foreign entity” (each as defined in the Code), unless (1) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations, (2) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any “substantial United States owners” (as defined in the Code) or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial United States owner, or (3) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in (1) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain “specified United States persons” or “United States-owned foreign entities” (each as defined in the Code), annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on certain payments to non-compliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules.

Under the applicable Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance, withholding under FATCA generally applies to payments of dividends on our common stock, and, beginning on or after January 1, 2019, will apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of such stock.

Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of withholding under FATCA to their investment in our common stock.

 

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Underwriting; conflicts of interest

We are offering the shares of common stock described in this prospectus through a number of underwriters. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering and as representatives of the underwriters. We have entered into an underwriting agreement with the underwriters. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the number of shares of common stock listed next to its name in the following table:

 

Name		Number of shares
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Barclays Capital Inc.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith                    Incorporated
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
Total

The underwriters are committed to purchase all the common shares offered by us if they purchase any shares. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may also be increased or the offering may be terminated.

The underwriters propose to offer the common shares directly to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $        per share. Any such dealers may resell shares to certain other brokers or dealers at a discount of up to $        per share from the initial public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares to the public, the offering price and other selling terms may be changed by the underwriters. The underwriters may offer and sell shares through certain of their affiliates.

The underwriters have an option to buy up to              additional shares of common stock from us to cover sales of shares by the underwriters which exceed the number of shares specified in the table above. The underwriters have 30 days from the date of this prospectus to exercise this option to purchase additional shares. If any shares are purchased with this option to purchase additional shares, the underwriters will purchase shares in approximately the same proportion as shown in the table above. If any additional shares of common stock are purchased, the underwriters will offer the additional shares on the same terms as those on which the shares are being offered.

The underwriting fee is equal to the public offering price per share of common stock less the amount paid by the underwriters to us per share of common stock. The underwriting fee is $        per share. The following table shows the per share and total underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

 

		Without option to purchase additional shares exercise				With full option to purchase additional shares exercise
Per Share		$				$
Total		$				$

 

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We estimate that the total expenses of this offering, including registration, filing and listing fees, printing fees and legal and accounting expenses, but excluding the underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $        .

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the web sites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in the offering. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of shares to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives to underwriters and selling group members that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

We have agreed, with limited exceptions, that we will not (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to, any shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of our common stock, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing, or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock or such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, in each case without the prior written consent of the representatives on behalf of the underwriters for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus, other than the shares of our common stock to be sold hereunder.

Our directors and executive officers, and certain of our significant shareholders have entered into lock-up agreements with the underwriters prior to the commencement of this offering pursuant to which each of these persons or entities, with limited exceptions, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus, may not, without the prior written consent of the representatives on behalf of the underwriters, (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock (including, without limitation, common stock or such other securities which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by such directors, executive officers and significant shareholders in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant), or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, (2) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock or such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or (3) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any shares of our common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock.

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933.

Our common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “AMD”.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, which involves making bids for, purchasing and selling shares of common stock in the open market for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock while this offering is in progress. These stabilizing transactions may include making short sales of the common stock, which involves the sale by the underwriters

of a greater number of shares of common stock than they are required to purchase in this offering, and purchasing shares of common stock on the open market to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales

 

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may be “covered” shorts, which are short positions in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares referred to above, or may be “naked” shorts, which are short positions in excess of that amount. The underwriters may close out any covered short position either by exercising their option to purchase additional shares, in whole or in part, or by purchasing shares in the open market. In making this determination, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market compared to the price at which the underwriters may purchase shares through the option to purchase additional shares. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. To the extent that the underwriters create a naked short position, they will purchase shares in the open market to cover the position.

The underwriters have advised us that, pursuant to Regulation M of the Securities Act of 1933, they may also engage in other activities that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock, including the imposition of penalty bids. This means that if the representatives of the underwriters purchase common stock in the open market in stabilizing transactions or to cover short sales, the representatives can require the underwriters that sold those shares as part of this offering to repay the underwriting discount received by them.

These activities may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of the common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock, and, as a result, the price of the common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. If the underwriters commence these activities, they may discontinue them at any time. The underwriters may carry out these transactions on NASDAQ, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

In addition, in connection with this offering certain of the underwriters (and selling group members) may engage in passive market making transactions in our common stock on NASDAQ prior to the pricing and completion of this offering. Passive market making consists of displaying bids on NASDAQ no higher than the bid prices of independent market makers and making purchases at prices no higher than these independent bids and effected in response to order flow. Net purchases by a passive market maker on each day are generally limited to a specified percentage of the passive market maker’s average daily trading volume in the common stock during a specified period and must be discontinued when such limit is reached. Passive market making may cause the price of our common stock to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. If passive market making is commenced, it may be discontinued at any time.

Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.

 

 

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Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates have provided in the past to us and our affiliates and may provide from time to time in the future certain commercial banking, financial advisory, investment banking and other services for us and such affiliates in the ordinary course of their business, for which they have received and may continue to receive customary fees and commissions. Certain of the underwriters for this offering are expected to act as underwriters for the Convertible Notes. In addition, from time to time, certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may effect transactions for their own account or the account of customers, and hold on behalf of themselves or their customers, long or short positions in our debt or equity securities or loans, and may do so in the future.

Conflicts of interest

A portion of the net proceeds from this offering may be used to repay a portion of the amounts outstanding under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and our Senior Notes. The notes will be prioritized in the following order, to the extent holders validly tender their notes: 6.75% Senior Notes due 2019, 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020, 7.50% Senior Notes due 2022 and 7.00% Senior Notes due 2024. We cannot assure you which Senior Note holders will tender their notes. Certain affiliates of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are lenders under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and holders of the Senior Notes. Certain affiliates of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are lenders under the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement and holders of the Senior Notes. Because such affiliates of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC may, in each case, receive more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering due to such repayment, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are each deemed to have a “conflict of interest” under FINRA Rule 5121(f)(5)(B). Accordingly, this offering is being made in compliance with the requirements of Rule 5121(a)(1)(A). Pursuant to that rule, the appointment of a “qualified independent underwriter” is not required in connection with this offering as each of the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering does not have a conflict of interest, is not an affiliate of any member that has a conflict of interest and meets the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of Rule 5121. In accordance with Rule 5121, neither Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated nor Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will sell any of our securities to a discretionary account without receiving written approval from the account holder.

Notice to prospective investors in the European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a “Relevant Member State”), no offer of shares may be made to the public in that Relevant Member State other than:

 

A.

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

B.

to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives; or

 

C.

in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive,

provided that no such offer of shares shall require the Company or the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.

Each person in a Relevant Member State who initially acquires any shares or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of

 

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the law in that Relevant Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive. In the case of any shares being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any shares to the public other than their offer or resale in a Relevant Member State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.

The Company, the representatives and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgements and agreements.

This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that any offer of shares in any Relevant Member State will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of shares. Accordingly any person making or intending to make an offer in that Relevant Member State of shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the Company or any of the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive in relation to such offer. Neither the Company nor the underwriters have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares in circumstances in which an obligation arises for the Company or the underwriters to publish a prospectus for such offer.

For the purpose of the above provisions, the expression “an offer to the public” in relation to any shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the shares, as the same may be varied in the Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in the Relevant Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member States) and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.

Notice to prospective investors in the United Kingdom

In addition, in the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer subsequently made may only be directed at persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Prospectus Directive) (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19 (5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) and/or (ii) who are high net worth companies (or persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated) falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”).

Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on the information included in this document or use it as basis for taking any action. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity that this document relates to may be made or taken exclusively by relevant persons. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

Notice to prospective investors in Switzerland

The shares may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document does not constitute a

 

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prospectus within the meaning of, and has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.

Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company, the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (“FINMA”), and the offer of shares has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares.

Notice to prospective investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”)

This document relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Markets Rules 2012 of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This document is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Markets Rules 2012 of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus supplement nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for this document. The securities to which this document relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the securities offered should conduct their own due diligence on the securities. If you do not understand the contents of this document you should consult an authorized financial advisor.

In relation to its use in the DIFC, this document is strictly private and confidential and is being distributed to a limited number of investors and must not be provided to any person other than the original recipient, and may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose. The interests in the securities may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly to the public in the DIFC.

Notice to prospective investors in the United Arab Emirates

The shares have not been, and are not being, publicly offered, sold, promoted or advertised in the United Arab Emirates (including the Dubai International Financial Centre) other than in compliance with the laws of the United Arab Emirates (and the Dubai International Financial Centre) governing the issue, offering and sale of securities. Further, this prospectus does not constitute a public offer of securities in the United Arab Emirates (including the Dubai International Financial Centre) and is not intended to be a public offer. This prospectus has not been approved by or filed with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Securities and Commodities Authority or the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Notice to prospective investors in Australia

This prospectus supplement:

 

•

does not constitute a disclosure document under Chapter 6D.2 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the “Corporations Act”);

 

•

has not been, and will not be, lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), as a disclosure document for the purposes of the Corporations Act and does not purport to include the information required of a disclosure document under Chapter 6D.2 of the Corporations Act; and

 

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•

may only be provided in Australia to select investors who are able to demonstrate that they fall within one or more of the categories of investors, or Exempt Investors, available under section 708 of the Corporations Act.

The shares may not be directly or indirectly offered for subscription or purchased or sold, and no invitations to subscribe for or buy the shares may be issued, and no draft or definitive offering memorandum, advertisement or other offering material relating to any shares may be distributed in Australia, except where disclosure to investors is not required under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act or is otherwise in compliance with all applicable Australian laws and regulations. By submitting an application for the shares, you represent and warrant to us that you are an Exempt Investor.

As any offer of shares under this document will be made without disclosure in Australia under Chapter 6D.2 of the Corporations Act, the offer of those securities for resale in Australia within 12 months may, under section 707 of the Corporations Act, require disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D.2 if none of the exemptions in section 708 applies to that resale. By applying for the shares you undertake to us that you will not, for a period of 12 months from the date of issue of the shares, offer, transfer, assign or otherwise alienate those securities to investors in Australia except in circumstances where disclosure to investors is not required under Chapter 6D.2 of the Corporations Act or where a compliant disclosure document is prepared and lodged with ASIC.

Notice to prospective investors in Japan

The shares have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Accordingly, the shares may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Notice to prospective investors in Hong Kong

The shares have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (a) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (b) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares has been or may be issued or has been or may be in the possession of any person for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.

WARNING: The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.

Notice to prospective investors in Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for

 

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subscription or purchase, of shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:

 

(a)

a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or

 

(b)

a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor,

securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:

 

(a)

to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;

 

(b)

where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;

 

(c)

where the transfer is by operation of law;

 

(d)

as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or

 

(e)

as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore

Notice to prospective investors in Bermuda

Shares may be offered or sold in Bermuda only in compliance with the provisions of the Investment Business Act of 2003 of Bermuda which regulates the sale of securities in Bermuda. Additionally, non-Bermudian persons (including companies) may not carry on or engage in any trade or business in Bermuda unless such persons are permitted to do so under applicable Bermuda legislation.

Notice to prospective investors in Saudi Arabia

This document may not be distributed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia except to such persons as are permitted under the Offers of Securities Regulations as issued by the board of the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (“CMA”) pursuant to resolution number 2-11-2004 dated 4 October 2004 as amended by resolution number 1-28-2008, as amended (the “CMA Regulations”). The CMA does not make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this document and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from, or incurred in reliance upon, any part of this document. Prospective purchasers of the securities offered hereby should conduct their own due diligence on the accuracy of the information relating to the securities. If you do not understand the contents of this document, you should consult an authorized financial adviser.

Notice to prospective investors in the British Virgin Islands

The shares are not being, and may not be offered to the public or to any person in the British Virgin Islands for purchase or subscription by or on behalf of the Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. The shares may be offered to

 

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companies incorporated under the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 (British Virgin Islands),“BVI Companies”), but only where the offer will be made to, and received by, the relevant BVI Company entirely outside of the British Virgin Islands.

This prospectus has not been, and will not be, registered with the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands. No registered prospectus has been or will be prepared in respect of the shares for the purposes of the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010 (“SIBA”) or the Public Issuers Code of the British Virgin Islands.

Notice to prospective investors in China

This prospectus supplement does not constitute a public offer of shares, whether by sale or subscription, in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”). The shares is not being offered or sold directly or indirectly in the PRC to or for the benefit of, legal or natural persons of the PRC.

Further, no legal or natural persons of the PRC may directly or indirectly purchase any of the shares or any beneficial interest therein without obtaining all prior PRC’s governmental approvals that are required, whether statutorily or otherwise. Persons who come into possession of this document are required by the issuer and its representatives to observe these restrictions.

Notice to prospective investors in Korea

The shares have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Investments Services and Capital Markets Act of Korea and the decrees and regulations thereunder (the “FSCMA”), and the shares have been and will be offered in Korea as a private placement under the FSCMA. None of the shares may be offered, sold or delivered directly or indirectly, or offered or sold to any person for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Korea or to any resident of Korea except pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations of Korea, including the FSCMA and the Foreign Exchange Transaction Law of Korea and the decrees and regulations thereunder (the “FETL”). The shares have not been listed on any of securities exchanges in the world including, without limitation, the Korea Exchange in Korea. Furthermore, the purchaser of the shares shall comply with all applicable regulatory requirements (including but not limited to requirements under the FETL) in connection with the purchase of the shares. By the purchase of the shares, the relevant holder thereof will be deemed to represent and warrant that if it is in Korea or is a resident of Korea, it purchased the shares pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations of Korea.

Notice to prospective investors in Malaysia

No prospectus or other offering material or document in connection with the offer and sale of the shares has been or will be registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia (“Commission”) for the Commission’s approval pursuant to the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Accordingly, this prospectus supplement and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Malaysia other than (i) a closed end fund approved by the Commission; (ii) a holder of a Capital Markets Services Licence; (iii) a person who acquires the shares, as principal, if the offer is on terms that the shares may only be acquired at a consideration of not less than RM250,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies) for each transaction; (iv) an individual whose total net personal assets or total net joint assets with his or her spouse exceeds RM3 million (or its equivalent in foreign currencies), excluding the value of the primary residence of the individual; (v) an individual who has a gross annual income exceeding RM300,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies) per

 

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annum in the preceding twelve months; (vi) an individual who, jointly with his or her spouse, has a gross annual income of RM400,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currencies), per annum in the preceding twelve months; (vii) a corporation with total net assets exceeding RM10 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currencies) based on the last audited accounts; (viii) a partnership with total net assets exceeding RM10 million (or its equivalent in foreign currencies); (ix) a bank licensee or insurance licensee as defined in the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010; (x) an Islamic bank licensee or takaful licensee as defined in the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010; and (xi) any other person as may be specified by the Commission; provided that, in the each of the preceding categories (i) to (xi), the distribution of the shares is made by a holder of a Capital Markets Services Licence who carries on the business of dealing in securities. The distribution in Malaysia of this prospectus supplement is subject to Malaysian laws. This prospectus supplement does not constitute and may not be used for the purpose of public offering or an issue, offer for subscription or purchase, invitation to subscribe for or purchase any securities requiring the registration of a prospectus with the Commission under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

Notice to prospective investors in Taiwan

The shares have not been and will not be registered with the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan pursuant to relevant securities laws and regulations and may not be sold, issued or offered within Taiwan through a public offering or in circumstances which constitutes an offer within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Act of Taiwan that requires a registration or approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan. No person or entity in Taiwan has been authorized to offer, sell, give advice regarding or otherwise intermediate the offering and sale of the shares in Taiwan.

Notice to prospective investors in South Africa

Due to restrictions under the securities laws of South Africa, the shares are not offered, and the Offer shall not be transferred, sold, renounced or delivered, in South Africa or to a person with an address in South Africa, unless one or other of the following exemptions applies:

 

(i)

the offer, transfer, sale, renunciation or delivery is to duly registered banks, mutual banks, financial services provider, financial institution, the Public Investment Corporation (in each case registered as such in South Africa), a person who deals with securities in their ordinary course of business, or a wholly owned subsidiary of a bank, mutual bank, authorized services provider or financial institution, acting as agent in the capacity of an authorized portfolio manager for a pension fund (duly registered in South Africa), or as manager for a collective investment scheme(registered in South Africa); or

 

(ii)

the contemplated acquisition cost of the securities, for any single addressee acting as principal is equal to or greater than R1,000,000.

This document does not, nor is it intended to, constitute an “offer to the public” (as that term is defined in the South African Companies Act, 2008 (the “SA Companies Act”) and does not, nor is it intended to, constitute a prospectus prepared and registered under the SA Companies Act. This document is not an “offer to the public” and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who do not fall within Section 96(1)(a) of the SA Companies Act (such persons being referred to as “relevant persons”). Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

A South African resident person or company or any non-South African company which is a subsidiary of a South African company is not permitted to acquire the shares unless such person has obtained exchange control approval to do so.

 

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Legal matters

The validity of shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus supplement will be passed upon for us by Latham & Watkins LLP. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California.

Experts

The consolidated financial statements of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. appearing in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 26, 2015 including schedules appearing therein, and the effectiveness of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 26, 2015, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are, and audited consolidated financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated herein in reliance upon the reports of Ernst & Young LLP pertaining to such consolidated financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the respective dates (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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Where you can find more information

We file reports and proxy statements with the SEC. These filings include our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and proxy statements on Schedule 14A, as well as any amendments to those reports and proxy statements, and are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. Once at www.amd.com, go to Investor Relations to locate copies of such reports and proxy statements. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and are not considered part of, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to purchase our common stock. You may also read and copy materials that we file with SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding us and other issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, relating to the shares of our common stock being offered by this prospectus. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, which constitutes part of that registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules which are part of the registration statement. For further information about us and the common stock offered, see the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules thereto. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or any other document to which reference is made are not necessarily complete, and, in each instance where a copy of a contract or other document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, reference is made to the copy so filed, each of those statements being qualified in all respects by the reference.

 

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Incorporation by reference

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus supplement the information we file with the SEC in other documents, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents instead of having to repeat the information in this prospectus supplement. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and later information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede such information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future information filed (rather than furnished) with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, between the date of this prospectus supplement and the date we close or otherwise terminate this offering, provided, however, that we are not incorporating any information furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K:

 

•

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2015, filed with the SEC on February 18, 2016.

 

•

Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 26, 2016, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2016, and June 25, 2016, filed with the SEC on July 26, 2016.

 

•

Information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 26, 2015 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016.

 

•

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 28, 2015, April 29, 2016 (Item 2.01 only), May 12, 2016, May 18, 2016, July 1, 2016 and August 31, 2016.

 

•

The description of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on December 9, 2014, including any subsequently filed amendments and reports updating such description.

We will furnish without charge to you a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference, including exhibits to these documents, upon written or oral request. Direct your written request to:

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

One AMD Place

P.O. Box 3453

Sunnyvale, California 94088-3453

(408) 749-4000

A statement contained in a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this or any other prospectus supplement, or in any other subsequently filed document which is also incorporated in this prospectus supplement modifies or replaces such statement. Any statements so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

 

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC.

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

Purchase Contracts

Units

 

 

We may offer and sell the securities identified above from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities.

Each time we offer and sell securities, we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering and the amounts, prices and terms of the securities. The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in any of our securities.

We may offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, or through a combination of these methods. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between or among them will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in the applicable prospectus supplement. See the sections of this prospectus entitled “About this Prospectus” and “Plan of Distribution” for more information. No securities may be sold without delivery of this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.

 

 

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES RISKS. SEE THE “RISK FACTORS” INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THIS PROSPECTUS AND ANY SIMILAR SECTION CONTAINED IN OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT CONCERNING FACTORS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES.

Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “AMD.” On September 2, 2016, the last reported sale price of our common stock on NASDAQ was $7.51 per share.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is September 6, 2016.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS			1
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE			2
THE COMPANY			4
RISK FACTORS			5
USE OF PROCEEDS			6
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED SHARE DIVIDENDS			7
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			8
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES			10
DESCRIPTION OF OTHER SECURITIES			18
GLOBAL SECURITIES			19
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			22
LEGAL MATTERS			23
EXPERTS			23

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell securities from time to time and in one or more offerings as described in this prospectus. Each time that we offer and sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate as of the date on its respective cover and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may contain and incorporate by reference, market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. Although we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market and industry data presented in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference, these estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus and under similar headings in other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.

When we refer to “AMD,” “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” in this prospectus, we mean Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise specified. When we refer to “you,” we mean the holders of the applicable series of securities.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Available Information

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Information filed with the SEC by us can be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of this information by mail from the Public Reference Room of the SEC at prescribed rates. Further information on the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

Our web site address is www.amd.com. The information on our web site, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.

This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the indenture and other documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or through the SEC’s website, as provided above.

Incorporation by Reference

The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, and subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that information. Any statement contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus modifies or replaces that statement.

We incorporate by reference our documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act” in this prospectus, between the date of this prospectus and the termination of the offering of the securities described in this prospectus. We are not, however, incorporating by reference any documents or portions thereof, whether specifically listed below or filed in the future, that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including our Compensation Committee report and performance graph or any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or related exhibits furnished pursuant to Item 9.01 of Form 8-K.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

 

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Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2015, filed with the SEC on February 18, 2016.

 

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Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 26, 2016, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2016, and June 25, 2016, filed with the SEC on July 26, 2016.

 

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Information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 26, 2015 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2016.

 

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Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 28, 2015, April 29, 2016 (Item 2.01 only), May 12, 2016, May 18, 2016, July 1, 2016 and August 31, 2016.

 

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The description of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on December 9, 2014, including any subsequently filed amendments and reports updating such description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.

You may request a free copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus (other than exhibits, unless they are specifically incorporated by reference in the documents) by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

One AMD Place

P.O. Box 3453

Sunnyvale, California 94088-3453

(408) 749-4000

Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

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THE COMPANY

We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering:

 

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x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated as an accelerated processing unit (“APU”), chipsets, discrete graphics processing units (“GPUs”) and professional graphics; and

 

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server and embedded processors, semi-custom System-on-Chip (“SoC”) products and technology for game consoles. We also license portions of our intellectual property portfolio.

We were incorporated under the laws of Delaware on May 1, 1969 and became a publicly held company in 1972. Our common stock is currently listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “AMD.” Our mailing address and executive offices are located at One AMD Place, P.O. Box 3453, Sunnyvale, California 94088-3453, and our telephone number at that location is (408) 749-4000.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making a decision to invest in our securities, in addition to the other information contained in this prospectus, in any accompanying prospectus supplement, or incorporated by reference herein or therein, you should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and discussed under “Risk Factors” contained in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus in their entirety, together with other information in this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference, and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with a specific offering. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED SHARE DIVIDENDS

The following table sets forth the historical ratios of earnings to fixed charges and preferred share dividends for AMD and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods indicated.

 

Year Ended

Six Months Ended June 25, 2016

Dec. 26, 2015

Dec. 27, 2014

Dec. 28, 2013

Dec. 29, 2012

Dec. 31, 2011

Ratio of earnings (loss) to fixed charges(1)

*

*

0.6x

*

1.0x

*

Ratio of earnings (loss) to combined fixed charges and preferred share dividends

*

*

0.6x

*

1.0x

*

 

(1)

For the years ended December 26, 2015, December 27, 2014, December 28, 2013, December 29, 2012 and December 31, 2011, earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges by approximately $646 million, $398 million, $74 million, $1.2 billion and $1 million, respectively. For the six-months ended June 25, 2016, earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges by approximately $157 million.

For the periods indicated above, we have no outstanding shares of preferred stock with required dividend payments. Therefore, the ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends are identical to the ratios presented in the tables above.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our capital stock. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our certificate of incorporation, which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

Our authorized capital stock consists of:

 

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1,500,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value; and

 

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1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.10 par value.

Common Stock

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted on by stockholders, including the election of directors. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulative voting rights, and, accordingly, the holders of a majority of the shares voting for the election of directors can elect the entire board if they choose to do so and, in that event, the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any person to the board of directors.

The holders of common stock are entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors, in its discretion, from funds legally available therefor and subject to prior dividend rights of holders of any shares of preferred stock which may be outstanding. However, the terms of certain of our borrowing arrangements restrict our ability to declare or pay dividends on our common stock in certain circumstances. Upon liquidation or dissolution of the company subject to prior liquidation rights of the holders of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive on a pro rata basis the remaining assets of the company available for distribution. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or other subscription rights, and there are no conversion rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions with respect to such shares. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and non-assessable.

Dividends on Common Stock

Currently, we do not have any plans to pay dividends on our common stock. Under the terms of our indentures for our 6.75% Senior Notes due 2019, 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020, 7.50% Senior Notes due 2022 and 7.00% Senior Notes due 2024, we are prohibited from paying cash dividends if the aggregate amount of dividends and other restricted payments made by us since entering into each indenture would exceed the sum of specified financial measures including fifty percent of consolidated net income as that term is defined in the indentures. Under the terms of our Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated as of April 14, 2015 (the “Amended and Restated Loan Agreement”), we are prohibited from paying cash dividends on our common stock when certain payment conditions (the “Payment Conditions”) are not satisfied. The Payment Conditions include that (i) no default or event of default exists and (ii) at all times during the 45 consecutive days immediately prior to such transaction, event or payment and on a pro forma basis after giving effect to such transaction, event or payment and any incurrence or repayment of indebtedness in connection therewith, the Loan Parties’ excess cash availability (as defined in the Amended and Restated Loan Agreement) is greater than the greater of 20% of the total commitment amount and $100 million, which as of June 25, 2016 was achieved.

Undesignated Preferred Stock

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to designate and issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of our common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any

 

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shares of preferred stock upon the rights of holders of our common stock until our board of directors determines the specific rights of the holders of preferred stock. However, the effects might include, among other things, restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock, impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock and delaying or preventing a change in control of our common stock without further action by our stockholders and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. As of September 6, 2016, no shares of our preferred stock were outstanding.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Under Section 203, we would generally be prohibited from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the time that this stockholder became an interested stockholder unless:

 

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prior to this time, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 

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upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

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at or subsequent to such time, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Under Section 203, a “business combination” includes:

 

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any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

 

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any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;

 

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any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder, subject to limited exceptions;

 

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any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or

 

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the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as an entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus. We will also indicate in the supplement to what extent the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities.

We may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Debt securities may be our senior, senior subordinated or subordinated obligations and, unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be our direct, unsecured obligations and may be issued in one or more series.

The debt securities will be issued under an indenture between us and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. The form of the indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement and you should read the indenture for provisions that may be important to you. In the summary below, we have included references to the section numbers of the indenture so that you can easily locate these provisions. Capitalized terms used in the summary and not defined herein have the meanings specified in the indenture.

General

The terms of each series of debt securities will be established by or pursuant to a resolution of our board of directors and set forth or determined in the manner provided in a resolution of our board of directors, in an officer’s certificate or by a supplemental indenture. (Section 2.2) The particular terms of each series of debt securities will be described in a prospectus supplement relating to such series (including any pricing supplement or term sheet).

We can issue an unlimited amount of debt securities under the indenture that may be in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. (Section 2.1) We will set forth in a prospectus supplement (including any pricing supplement or term sheet) relating to any series of debt securities being offered, the aggregate principal amount and the following terms of the debt securities, if applicable:

 

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the title and ranking of the debt securities (including the terms of any subordination provisions);

 

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the price or prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount) at which we will sell the debt securities;

 

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any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities;

 

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the date or dates on which the principal of the securities of the series is payable;

 

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the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) per annum or the method used to determine the rate or rates (including any commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index) at which the debt securities will bear interest, the date or dates from which interest will accrue, the date or dates on which interest will commence and be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable on any interest payment date;

 

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the place or places where principal of, and interest, if any, on the debt securities will be payable (and the method of such payment), where the securities of such series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange, and where notices and demands to us in respect of the debt securities may be delivered;

 

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the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which we may redeem the debt securities;

 

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any obligation we have to redeem or purchase the debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a holder of debt securities and the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and in the terms and conditions upon which securities of the series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;

 

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the dates on which and the price or prices at which we will repurchase debt securities at the option of the holders of debt securities and other detailed terms and provisions of these repurchase obligations;

 

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the denominations in which the debt securities will be issued, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;

 

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whether the debt securities will be issued in the form of certificated debt securities or global debt securities;

 

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the portion of principal amount of the debt securities payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity date, if other than the principal amount;

 

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the currency of denomination of the debt securities, which may be United States Dollars or any foreign currency, and if such currency of denomination is a composite currency, the agency or organization, if any, responsible for overseeing such composite currency;

 

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the designation of the currency, currencies or currency units in which payment of principal of, premium and interest on the debt securities will be made;

 

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if payments of principal of, premium or interest on the debt securities will be made in one or more currencies or currency units other than that or those in which the debt securities are denominated, the manner in which the exchange rate with respect to these payments will be determined;

 

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the manner in which the amounts of payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities will be determined, if these amounts may be determined by reference to an index based on a currency or currencies or by reference to a commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index;

 

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any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities;

 

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any addition to, deletion of or change in the Events of Default described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities and any change in the acceleration provisions described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

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any addition to, deletion of or change in the covenants described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

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any depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents with respect to the debt securities;

 

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the provisions, if any, relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of such series, including if applicable, the conversion or exchange price and period, provisions as to whether conversion or exchange will be mandatory, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion or exchange price and provisions affecting conversion or exchange;

 

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any other terms of the debt securities, which may supplement, modify or delete any provision of the indenture as it applies to that series, including any terms that may be required under applicable law or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of the securities; and

 

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whether any of our direct or indirect subsidiaries will guarantee the debt securities of that series, including the terms of subordination, if any, of such guarantees. (Section 2.2)

We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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If we denominate the purchase price of any of the debt securities in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, or if the principal of and any premium and interest on any series of debt securities is payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, we will provide you with information on the restrictions, elections, general tax considerations, specific terms and other information with respect to that issue of debt securities and such foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Transfer and Exchange

Each debt security will be represented by either one or more global securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (the “Depositary”) or a nominee of the Depositary (we will refer to any debt security represented by a global debt security as a “book-entry debt security”), or a certificate issued in definitive registered form (we will refer to any debt security represented by a certificated security as a “certificated debt security”) as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as set forth under the heading “Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System” below, book-entry debt securities will not be issuable in certificated form.

Certificated Debt Securities. You may transfer or exchange certificated debt securities at any office we maintain for this purpose in accordance with the terms of the indenture. (Section 2.4) No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange. (Section 2.7)

You may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and the right to receive the principal of, premium and interest on certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing those certificated debt securities and either reissuance by us or the trustee of the certificate to the new holder or the issuance by us or the trustee of a new certificate to the new holder.

Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System. Each global debt security representing book-entry debt securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, the Depositary, and registered in the name of the Depositary or a nominee of the Depositary. Please see “Global Securities.”

Covenants

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement any restrictive covenants applicable to any issue of debt securities. (Article IV)

No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions which may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change in control) which could adversely affect holders of debt securities.

Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

We may not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our properties and assets to any person (a “successor person”) unless:

 

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we are the surviving corporation or the successor person (if other than AMD) is a corporation organized and validly existing under the laws of any U.S. domestic jurisdiction and expressly assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indenture; and

 

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immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default, shall have occurred and be continuing.

 

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Notwithstanding the above, any of our subsidiaries may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties to us. (Section 5.1)

Events of Default

“Event of Default” means with respect to any series of debt securities, any of the following:

 

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default in the payment of any interest upon any debt security of that series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days (unless the entire amount of the payment is deposited by us with the trustee or with a paying agent prior to the expiration of the 30-day period);

 

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default in the payment of principal of any security of that series at its maturity;

 

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default in the performance or breach of any other covenant or warranty by us in the indenture (other than a covenant or warranty that has been included in the indenture solely for the benefit of a series of debt securities other than that series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after we receive written notice from the trustee or AMD and the trustee receive written notice from the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series as provided in the indenture;

 

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certain voluntary or involuntary events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of AMD; and

 

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any other Event of Default provided with respect to debt securities of that series that is described in the applicable prospectus supplement. (Section 6.1)

No Event of Default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an Event of Default with respect to any other series of debt securities. (Section 6.1) The occurrence of certain Events of Default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain indebtedness of ours or our subsidiaries outstanding from time to time.

We will provide the trustee written notice of any Default or Event of Default within 30 days of becoming aware of the occurrence of such Default or Event of Default, which notice will describe in reasonable detail the status of such Default or Event of Default and what action we are taking or propose to take in respect thereof. (Section 6.1)

If an Event of Default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal of (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all debt securities of that series. In the case of an Event of Default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may rescind and annul the acceleration if all Events of Default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the indenture. (Section 6.2) We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an Event of Default.

 

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The indenture provides that the trustee may refuse to perform any duty or exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any cost, liability or expense which might be incurred by it in performing such duty or exercising such right or power. (Section 7.1(e)) Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series. (Section 6.12)

No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:

 

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that holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to debt securities of that series; and

 

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the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, and offered indemnity or security satisfactory to the trustee, to the trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee, and the trustee has not received from the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series a direction inconsistent with that request and has failed to institute the proceeding within 60 days. (Section 6.7)

Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of, premium and any interest on that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in that debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of payment. (Section 6.8)

The indenture requires us, within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year, to furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. (Section 4.3) If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing with respect to the securities of any series and if it is known to a responsible officer of the trustee, the trustee shall mail to each Securityholder of the securities of that series notice of a Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs or, if later, after a responsible officer of the trustee has knowledge of such Default or Event of Default. The indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any Default or Event of Default (except in payment on any debt securities of that series) with respect to debt securities of that series if the trustee determines in good faith that withholding notice is in the interest of the holders of those debt securities. (Section 7.5)

Modification and Waiver

We and the trustee may modify, amend or supplement the indenture or the debt securities of any series without the consent of any holder of any debt security:

 

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to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

•

to comply with covenants in the indenture described above under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets”;

 

•

to provide for uncertificated securities in addition to or in place of certificated securities;

 

•

to add guarantees with respect to debt securities of any series or secure debt securities of any series;

 

•

to surrender any of our rights or powers under the indenture;

 

•

to add covenants or events of default for the benefit of the holders of debt securities of any series;

 

•

to comply with the applicable procedures of the applicable depositary;

 

•

to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder of debt securities;

 

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•

to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of debt securities of any series as permitted by the indenture;

 

•

to effect the appointment of a successor trustee with respect to the debt securities of any series and to add to or change any of the provisions of the indenture to provide for or facilitate administration by more than one trustee; or

 

•

to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act. (Section 9.1)

We may also modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modifications or amendments. We may not make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holders of each affected debt security then outstanding if that amendment will:

 

•

reduce the amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

 

•

reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any debt security;

 

•

reduce the principal of or premium on or change the fixed maturity of any debt security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation with respect to any series of debt securities;

 

•

reduce the principal amount of discount securities payable upon acceleration of maturity;

 

•

waive a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or interest on any debt security (except a rescission of acceleration of the debt securities of any series by the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of that series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

 

•

make the principal of or premium or interest on any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security;

 

•

make any change to certain provisions of the indenture relating to, among other things, the right of holders of debt securities to receive payment of the principal of, premium and interest on those debt securities and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment and to waivers or amendments; or

 

•

waive a redemption payment with respect to any debt security. (Section 9.3)

Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. (Section 9.2) The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on any debt security of that series; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration. (Section 6.13)

Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances

Legal Defeasance. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, we may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (subject to certain exceptions). We will be so discharged upon the irrevocable deposit with the trustee,

 

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in trust, of money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money or U.S. government obligations in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal, premium and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities.

This discharge may occur only if, among other things, we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that we have received from, or there has been published by, the United States Internal Revenue Service a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred. (Section 8.3)

Defeasance of Certain Covenants. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions:

 

•

we may omit to comply with the covenant described under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets” and certain other covenants set forth in the indenture, as well as any additional covenants which may be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement; and

 

•

any omission to comply with those covenants will not constitute a Default or an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of that series (“covenant defeasance”).

The conditions include:

 

•

depositing with the trustee money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal of, premium and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities; and

 

•

delivering to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that we have received from, or there has been published by, the United States Internal Revenue Service a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit and related covenant defeasance and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit and related covenant defeasance had not occurred. (Section 8.4)

No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees or Stockholders

None of our past, present or future directors, officers, employees or stockholders, as such, will have any liability for any of our obligations under the debt securities or the indenture or for any claim based on, or in respect or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting a debt security, each holder waives and releases all such liability. This waiver and release is part of the consideration for the issue of the debt securities. However, this waiver and release may not be effective to waive liabilities under U.S. federal securities laws, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.

 

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Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities, including any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the indenture or the securities, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York.

The indenture will provide that we, the trustee and the holders of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to the indenture, the debt securities or the transactions contemplated thereby.

The indenture will provide that any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon the indenture or the transactions contemplated thereby may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the City of New York, and we, the trustee and the holder of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. The indenture will further provide that service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail (to the extent allowed under any applicable statute or rule of court) to such party’s address set forth in the indenture will be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The indenture will further provide that we, the trustee and the holders of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the courts specified above and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim any such suit, action or other proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum. (Section 10.10)

 

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DESCRIPTION OF OTHER SECURITIES

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement a description of any warrants, purchase contracts or units issued by us that may be offered and sold pursuant to this prospectus.

 

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GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

Unless we indicate differently in a prospectus supplement, the securities initially will be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities, or, collectively, global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, as depositary, or DTC, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

DTC has advised us that it is:

 

•

a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

 

•

a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law;

 

•

a member of the Federal Reserve System;

 

•

a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

 

•

a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. “Direct participants” in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

 

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So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.

Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, unless a shorter period is satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.

Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC, the trustee, or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.

The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.

 

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As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:

 

•

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for the global security or securities representing such series of securities or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at a time when it is required to be registered and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days of the notification to us or of our becoming aware of DTC’s ceasing to be so registered, as the case may be;

 

•

we determine, in our sole discretion, not to have such securities represented by one or more global securities; or

 

•

an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities,

we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.

We have obtained the information in this section and elsewhere in this prospectus concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system from sources that are believed to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the offered securities from time to time:

 

•

through underwriters or dealers;

 

•

through agents;

 

•

directly to one or more purchasers; or

 

•

through a combination of any of these methods of sale.

We will identify the specific plan of distribution, including any underwriters, dealers, agents or direct purchasers and their compensation in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Latham & Watkins LLP will pass upon certain legal matters relating to the issuance and sale of the securities offered hereby on behalf of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. appearing in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 26, 2015 including schedules appearing therein, and the effectiveness of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 26, 2015, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are, and audited consolidated financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated herein in reliance upon the reports of Ernst & Young LLP pertaining to such consolidated financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the respective dates (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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