Chip Warnings Weigh

The biggest hit to AMD's results came from its flash memory operations. AMD expected sales to be flat to up, but sales fell and the unit lost money amid a "competitive and challenging" market. AMD will announce more specific details on Jan. 18.

"It's tough to compete with a 500-pound gorilla, especially when you have a war on two fronts -- both processors and flash memory," said analyst Krishna Shankar with JMP Securities. "I thought AMD's strong processor business would outweigh weakness in flash, but that obviously was not the case," he said.

Intel and Samsung have been very aggressive in the flash market in recent months, Shankar said. Samsung is the world's second-largest chipmaker. The South Korean-based company will report financial results Friday.