Central processing unit markets are witnessing a historic shift as AMD breaks record barriers and threatens Intel’s long-standing dominance in the server and laptop sectors.
Article index:
- Historic 31-year decline in Intel’s market share
- Intense competition in the server and data center processor sector
- Desktop slump and strong growth in laptops
- Supply chain pressures and rising ARM processor competition
- Frequently asked questions
Historic 31-year decline in Intel’s market share
Intel’s total market share in the x86-based central processing unit market fell below the 70% threshold for the first time since 1995, registering 69.3% during the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest report from semiconductor research firm Mercury Research. Meanwhile, rival company AMD achieved a record market share of 30.7%, marking a striking annual increase of 6.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
This decisive historic shift comes despite Intel’s data center group having recorded a record 59% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter announced in late July; however, soaring demand did not prevent AMD from achieving a much faster growth rate in server processor shipments over the same period.
Intense competition in the server and data center processor sector
In the data center server processor sector, AMD’s share rose by 7.3 percentage points year-over-year to reach 34.5%, compared to 65.5% for Intel, according to preliminary calculations. However, Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research, explained that there is a fundamental accounting discrepancy between the two companies: AMD does not include embedded processors dedicated to networking and storage within its data center segment in its reports, whereas Intel does. When adjusting the figures to account for this difference, AMD’s actual share in the server processor market likely rises to 46.4% compared to 53.6% for Intel, representing a massive annual jump of 9.2 percentage points for AMD.
Total server processor shipments in the market grew by nearly 20% year-over-year, amid expectations and confirmations from both company leaderships that strong demand will continue and grow through the end of the current year, driven by computing infrastructure requirements.
Desktop slump and strong growth in laptops
In contrast, the desktop processor sector suffered from severe weakness, with total shipments dropping by over 20% year-over-year—a situation McCarron described as “very bad.” The report attributed this slump to rising personal computer prices and limited supplies of graphics processing cards due to the artificial intelligence boom, which led component manufacturers to prioritize data center server production over consumer desktops. In this sector, AMD raised its share by 2.7 points to reach 34.9%, while Intel’s share dropped to 65.1% as shipments declined for both companies.
As for the laptop sector, AMD achieved its fastest pace of market share growth, jumping to 28.9% with an 8.4 percentage point annual increase compared to 71.1% for Intel. McCarron emphasized that total mobile device shipments rose strongly on a consecutive quarterly basis, breaking previous concerns regarding weak consumer demand.
Supply chain pressures and rising ARM processor competition
Commenting on the report, an official Intel spokesperson told CRN that “the company’s current top priority is boosting capacity and improving factory productivity as quickly as possible to meet growing customer demand.” Both Intel and AMD face growing pressure from computing processors based on the ARM architecture, including Nvidia’s Vera server processors, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips for personal computers, Apple’s M-series processors, and custom designs for cloud giants such as Amazon Web Services.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What is the current market share of Intel and AMD?
Answer: Intel’s total x86 processor share dropped to 69.3%, while AMD’s share rose to a record 30.7% in the second quarter of 2026.
Question: What is AMD’s adjusted share in the server processor market?
Answer: Its actual adjusted share reaches approximately 46.4% compared to 53.6% for Intel after settling accounting differences for embedded processors.
Question: What are the reasons behind the decline in desktop processor sales?
Answer: This is due to rising device prices and a shortage of graphics cards caused by factories focusing on AI data center hardware.
