AMD captured the third segment of the x86 processor market, while desktop CPU sales fell by 20 %.

Quarter‑1 2026 CPU Market Overview

Metric Q1 2026 Year Ago Commentary
Total sales (laptops, PCs, consoles, IoT) –6 % YoY—Decline due to production constraints and shortages of certain models.
Server chip shipments +10 % YoY—Growth driven by higher demand for server solutions.
AMD x86 share 32.6 % vs 27.1 %—Record increase of almost 5 percentage points.
Intel x86 share 67.4 % vs 72.9 %—Decrease of 5.5 percentage points.
Servers: AMD 33.2 % vs 27.2 %—Increase both YoY and QoQ; Intel nearly unchanged.
Desktop processors 33.2 % (AMD) vs 28.1 % (AMD)—YoY growth but QoQ drop of 3.2 percentage points; Intel rose to 66.8 %.
Mobile x86 processors AMD 28.3 %, Intel 71.7 %; AMD 22.5 %, Intel 77.5 %—Intel supply fell due to reallocation to servers.
ARM client chips 14.4 %—Growth of 0.5 percentage points; popular in MacBook and Chromebook.
ARM server processors ~2× YoY—Primarily thanks to Nvidia Grace (Blackwell NVL72 AI). Market share – 13.2 %.

What Happened
1. Overall sales decline
Demand for laptops, PCs, and IoT devices fell about 6 %, linked to production limits and shortages of some models.

2. Server market growth
Server chip shipments rose nearly 10 %. AMD significantly expanded its share, reaching 33.2 % (vs 27.2 % a year earlier). Intel remained almost unchanged. Both manufacturers forecast further growth in 2026.

3. Desktop processors – dual story
AMD increased its YoY share to 33.2 %, but lost 3.2 percentage points compared with Q4 2025. Intel strengthened to 66.8 %. The sharp drop in AMD demand early in the year was due to buyers stocking components ahead of fears of rising memory and other component prices.

4. Mobile x86 processors
Intel production constraints led to reduced laptop shipments. Reallocating capacity to servers caused shortages for desktop PCs and laptops, allowing AMD to raise its share to 28.3 %.

5. ARM chips continue to capture the market
ARM share in client computers rose to 14.4 %. Server processors with ARM cores nearly doubled sales thanks to Nvidia Grace (Blackwell NVL72 AI). Total ARM server chip share reached 13.2 %.

What to Expect Next
- Demand for desktop CPUs may shift from supply shortages to weak demand due to high prices mid‑year.

- The server segment will keep growing, and AMD will actively compete with Intel.

- ARM is strengthening its position in both client and server solutions.

Thus, despite overall supply challenges, AMD maintains growth momentum and expands its presence across all key processor market segments.