Benefiting from a rebounding PC market, AMD has posted a narrower than expected loss for the third quarter of 2009 and offered an upbeat outlook for the remainder of the year. Its chip design arm actually made a $2 million net profit this time around, up from a $244 million net loss in the second quarter, but once you add in the numbers from GlobalFoundries things don't look as well.

All in all, the company recorded a $128 million net loss on $1.4 billion revenue last quarter, which despite marking their twelfth consecutive period into the red, beats market expectations of a ~$300 million net loss on revenue of $1.26 billion. AMD saw strong demand for its processors and graphics chips during the third quarter, according to CEO Dirk Meyer, and benefited from higher average selling prices.

The company reported revenue of $306 million for its graphics chips business, up 22% sequentially, while its computing solutions unit saw a 17% jump in revenue to $1.1 billion. Despite the improved results, both businesses' numbers were still down compared to the third quarter of last year.

Meyer said they expect revenue for its product-design division to be "up modestly" in the fourth quarter, but apparently failed to excite investors who have sent AMD's stock down roughly 6% since the announcement.