AMD surpassed Intel in desktop PC processor market share in the fourth quarter of 2025, achieving 36% whereas Intel’s share declined, according to preliminary data from Mercury Research. The shift comes as Intel strategically prioritized server processor production due to supply constraints and process yield issues.
The overall x86 processor market experienced a contraction from the third to the fourth quarter of 2025, but AMD capitalized on Intel’s reallocation of resources. Historically, Intel maintained approximately 80% of the PCU market, with AMD holding the remaining 20%. That ratio has now narrowed to around 70-30, according to Mercury Research.
“AMD’s shipments significantly outgrew Intel’s, both sequentially and on year, resulting in strong share increases by both measures,” Mercury Research president Dean McCarron wrote in a note to reporters. He noted that AMD’s growth spanned all product lines, with a particular strength in mid-range processors, a segment where Intel reduced its focus.
Intel’s decision to prioritize server CPUs, while boosting revenue in that sector, directly impacted its mobile client CPU shipments, which experienced significant declines. This created an opening for AMD to achieve a record high share in the mobile processor market. “Intel’s capacity reallocation hit the company’s mobile client CPU shipments the hardest,” McCarron stated.
Both Intel and AMD saw growth in server CPU shipments. Intel’s server shipments grew by double the seasonal average, while AMD’s tripled, though from a smaller base. This growth occurred even as shipments of system-on-chip (SoC) processors for gaming consoles slowed, with AMD CEO Lisa Su indicating a potential refresh is not expected until 2027.
The role of Arm-based processors remains a factor, though Mercury Research noted uncertainty in estimating Arm’s market share due to strong PC sales complicating the tracking of CPU sell-in. Their current estimate places Arm’s share at approximately 13.3 percent, slightly below the 13.7 percent recorded a year prior, including Apple Macs and Arm Chromebooks.
Jon Peddie Research, a separate market analysis firm, reported a 2.7% sequential growth in the global client CPU market and a 14.1% year-over-year increase in server CPU shipments. Jon Peddie, president of JPR, anticipates a decline in the first quarter of 2026 due to memory constraints and rising production costs.
