On April 22, those shareholders who stuck with the company through the turmoil got a payoff: The stock rallied 52 percent a day after AMD announced a deal to bring in cash from licensing technology to China. "I don't think anyone expected that," said Raymond James analyst Hans Mosesmann. "It's very disruptive potentially." Read more: China Server Deal Gives AMD Stock Biggest Surge in 35 Years Lisa Su, AMD's chief executive officer, was personally involved in the China deal. It's a rebuke to skepticism of her plan to bring in revenue from technology licensing and given her company another source of cash that Intel can't easily take away. Investors and analysts like AMD's China joint venture because it could provide the chipmaker with a path back into the lucrative server market. AMD is partnering with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co. -- which is backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences -- to create a company that will make server parts for the Chinese market.