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Stocks (from 3)
1936 for $20 a share, that investment
would be worth over $2 million today. That
company later changed its name from
Haloid to Xerox.
Why do they call it “playing”?
“Playing” the market can be a very risky
business, indeed. Why do you think they
call it “playing”? Fortunes can be made or
lost in a few trading sessions.
Still, the prospect of doubling, tripling or
watching your stock picks climb into the
stratosphere is tantalizing.
This article looks at the stocks of 10 well-
known U.S.-based companies (alphabeti-
cally) within the semiconductor sector to
see how they did recently and what mar-
ket analysts say about their future.
Many foreign companies, such as Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., are also
traded in their own securities markets or in
the U.S. as American Depository Receipts.
We may look at them in a later article.
This review consists of three chip makers
with fabs; four fabless providers; two sup-
1
pliers of semiconductor manufacturing or
test equipment; and one assembly, pack-
aging and test provider.
We begin our alphabetical
journey with one of the old-
est semiconductor makers
in the world, Advanced Mi-
cro Devices. AMD began in
Sunnyvale, Calif., but has
since moved to nearby Santa
Clara.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Founded in 1969 (only about one year af-
ter its longtime rival Intel), the company
MARCH 2022
Taiwan-born Dr. Lisa Su, CEO/president of AMD, is considered
largely responsible for the company’s turnaround. (AMD)
moved from its original Sunnyvale location
in August 2017 to new quarters in Santa
Clara —only a stone’s throw from Intel.
Jerry Sanders, AMD president
The company began selling microproces-
sors, as one of several competitors to In-
tel in that market. Like Intel, AMD operated
several fabs where its products were pro-
duced.
To most old timers, the company will al-
ways be associated with co-founder Walter
Jeremiah Sanders IV. Jerry is said to have
made the pronouncement, “Real men have
fabs.” Today, of course, AMD is fabless.
Sanders, a dapper fashion icon, always im-
peccably attired, now 85, was reared on the
hard-scrabble streets of southside Chicago.
Once, he was beaten so badly by a street
gang that a priest was called to administer
Last Rites.
Good training
Sanders’ street-side fi sticuff s turned out to
be excellent training for his future in the
rough-and-tumble semiconductor industry
of the 1960s and ‘70s.
Although Intel and AMD are still fi erce com-
petitors in some categories of processors,
Dr. Robert Noyce, Intel’s co-founder was an
early investor in AMD.
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