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Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) CEO Lisa Su says technology consumers and industry buyers are becoming more concerned about the trade war between the U.S. and China, potentially impacting chip industry spending.

During a week in which industry peer Texas Instruments cited a slowdown in chip demand in forecasting a weaker outlook, Su said she doesn’t see a macroeconomic problem for the chip sector yet. But, Su told Barron’s in a wide-ranging phone interview Thursday morning, “people are more cautious given the trade situation.”

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis canceled a trip to China, and President Trump accused China of election interference. The WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains how U.S.-China tensions are rising. Photo: Getty

“A bit more cautious [than three months ago],” she said, a day after highflying AMD stock plunged on weaker guidance. “We see it as an opportunity to gain [market] share.”

AMD makes processors that act as the main computing brains for PCs, servers, and graphics cards, competing with Intel (INTC) and Nvidia (NVDA).

AMD stock was down almost 13% in Thursday morning trading.

President Donald Trump’s administration instituted tariffs of 10% on $200 billion of imports from China in late September. Trump, in a statement last month, said these tariffs would rise to 25% on Jan. 1 if no deal is reached. The tariffs affect many technology products made in China, including some PC-related components and parts.

The tariffs “add complexity to the supply chain,” Su said. Although AMD has some assembly and test operations in China, the company is multi-sourced and doesn’t expect a material impact from the tariffs, she said.

But Su acknowledged that if companies manufacturing PC components—including motherboards, graphics cards, and cases—are forced to raise prices due to tariffs, it could potentially increase the total cost for PC buyers.

AMD on Wednesday posted adjusted earnings per share of 13 cents and sales of $1.65 billion for the third quarter, roughly in line with the analyst consensus of 12 cents and $1.7 billion. But its fourth-quarter revenue outlook was significantly below the Street at a range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion, compared with the $1.6 billion average forecast.

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The quarterly guidance was the first time this year AMD forecasted sales materially below Wall Street expectations.

Before the results, the chip stock was the No. 1 performer in the entire S&P 500 this year through Wednesday’s close, with a 122% gain. AMD stock had rallied on rising expectations it will gain market share from Intel due to its increasingly competitive chip technology.

Su is still confident about AMD’s product pipelines for both of its CPU and graphics businesses, noting a tendency of some investors to myopically focus on short term quarter by quarter results.

We will be “competitive in high-end graphics,” she said. “We’re making high-performing quality products and building a solid long-term foundation.”

Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com