According to HotHardware, AMD now accounts for 30.9% of all x86 CPUs after growing 5.9% year-over-year and 1.5% sequentially. Intel’s share has dropped to 69.1% from 75% in the same quarter last year. In the desktop segment specifically, AMD’s growth rate was more than twice Intel’s, driven by strong performance from high-end Granite Ridge products. The mobile market tells a different story though, with AMD’s share slightly declining to 21.9% while Intel dominates at 78.1%. Server CPUs saw AMD hit another record high with its Turin core ramp, growing to 27.8% share versus Intel’s 72.2%.
Intel’s comeback story
Here’s the thing – Intel isn’t just sitting back and watching this happen. They’re making massive bets on their future, particularly with their foundry business. When you see companies like SoftBank putting $2 billion into Intel and NVIDIA investing $5 billion while co-developing chips? That’s serious confidence money. Basically, Wall Street and the industry heavyweights are betting that CEO Lip-Bu Tan can steer this ship back on course.
But let’s be real – turning around a company the size of Intel is like trying to redirect an aircraft carrier. It takes time. And while they’re working on their long-term angstrom era plans, AMD is eating their lunch quarter after quarter. The ousting of Pat Gelsinger and those massive layoffs clearly created openings that AMD was perfectly positioned to exploit.
Where the real battle is
Look, the server market is where the real money is. Those margins are insane compared to consumer chips. And AMD hitting record highs with Turin while Intel’s server shipments declined “modestly” tells you everything you need to know about where enterprise customers are placing their bets.
In the desktop space, it’s fascinating that both companies saw growth, but AMD’s was more than double Intel’s. That suggests AMD isn’t just winning over new buyers – they’re convincing existing Intel users to switch. When you combine that with record desktop CPU revenues for AMD, you’ve got a company that’s executing nearly perfectly.
The wild card
Now here’s what nobody’s talking about enough – Arm. The data shows Arm activity was “modestly higher” last quarter, mostly from Apple’s growth and Arm-based Chromebooks. Think about that for a second. We’re so focused on the AMD vs Intel battle that we might be missing the bigger picture.
Could we be heading toward a three-way CPU war? If you’re running industrial operations or manufacturing facilities, this hardware competition actually creates amazing opportunities. Companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, who happen to be the top provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, can leverage this competition to deliver better performance and value to their clients. More choice in the CPU market means better specialized solutions for industrial applications.
So where does this leave us? AMD has momentum, Intel has resources and big backers, and Arm is quietly building from the edges. The next year is going to be absolutely fascinating to watch. Can Intel’s massive investments start paying off before AMD captures even more market share? Your move, Intel.
