One in Three Servers Now Uses AMD: Is Intel Really at Risk of Being Overtaken?

AMD

AMD continues to consolidate its position in the x86 CPU market, especially in the server segment, where the latest data released by Mercury Research highlights a steady growth at the expense of Intel. In the first quarter of 2026, the company from Santa Clara reached 33.2% of the server market share in terms of units distributed, while the revenue share hit a record of 46.2%. This financial data is particularly significant because it indicates how the EPYC platforms have a significantly higher average selling value compared to competing Xeon solutions. In practice, while maintaining about a third of the volumes, AMD is now close to generating half of the overall revenue in the x86 server market.

The growth is primarily attributed to the strong adoption of the EPYC Genoa and Turin platforms in the cloud and enterprise sectors, along with the growing demand for AI infrastructures. AMD is also preparing the next generation composed of the Venice and Verano architectures, accompanied by the Instinct MI400 accelerators intended for AI Helios racks.

Considering ARM processors as well, the server market scenario shows an even more marked change. ARM has indeed reached 17.7% of the share for units, while Intel has dropped to 54.9% and AMD stands at 27.4%. This data confirms how Intel's historical dominance in data centers is progressively decreasing, both due to the pressure exerted by AMD and the growing prevalence of alternative architectures.

A different situation exists in the desktop segment, where AMD has recorded a decline compared to the previous quarter. After reaching 36.4% of the market share, the company has fallen to 33.2%, with a revenue share of 37.6%. This result could be linked to the renewed competitiveness of Intel Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake" CPUs, which feature new models (Plus) but especially price cuts, along with the general slowdown in the desktop market due to rising memory and graphics card prices—factors that are hindering hardware upgrades by consumers.

The notebook sector, on the other hand, shows positive signs for AMD. Mobile CPUs have reached 28.3% of the share, up from 26% in the previous quarter, while the revenue share has risen to 28.9%. The segment is mainly driven by the Ryzen AI and Ryzen AI MAX platforms, appreciated for their energy efficiency and AI-accelerated features from the XDNA architecture.

However, there remains a high level of attention towards Intel's next moves in the mobile sector. According to initial market indications, the Panther Lake processors are reportedly receiving a positive reception and could influence data in the upcoming quarters.

Overall, AMD has reached 29.6% of the x86 client market and about 30% of the entire x86 landscape as considered by Mercury Research. On the total revenue front, the share rose to 38.1%, with a significant increase both compared to the previous quarter and on a yearly basis.

The data thus confirms a phase of strong expansion for AMD in the high-margin segments, particularly data centers and AI, while the traditional consumer market continues to show more variable and sensitive dynamics to the overall trends in the PC sector.