An integrated circuit magnetoresistive speed and direction sensor generally utilizes an AMR bridge circuit thereby allowing for increased air gap performance as compared to conventional Hall-effect element based sensors. The AMR sensor is capable of sensing ring magnets or bar magnets magnetized with one or more magnet poles along the desired travel. The number of poles of the magnet should be optimized based upon the application design. In order to obtain speed and direction information, two bridge circuits can be placed within proximity (I.e., the exact location and shape of the bridge can be determined based upon the target and desired performance) of each other. The signals of the two bridge circuits can be compared on integrated electronics. The bridges are generally rotated 45 degrees to reduce and/or eliminate offsets, which provide the sensor with a large air gap performance.