AMD captured a record share of the PC processor market in the second quarter of 2026, surpassing 30% of client CPU shipments for the first time as a sharp rebound in mobile processors and continued gains in servers offset a steep decline in desktop PCs.
The overall x86 CPU market grew by more than 10% sequentially in the second quarter, in stark contrast to what is typically a seasonally weak quarter, according to estimates by Mercury Research.
The stronger-than-expected performance came despite gloomy forecasts from CPU suppliers heading into the quarter. Intel substantially increased processor shipments, particularly for mobile PCs, after several quarters of supply constraints, while AMD continued to ramp its Ryzen and EPYC products.
On a year-over-year basis, however, the overall CPU market declined. The weakness was concentrated in IoT, embedded and semi-custom processors, including lower shipments associated with AMD’s declining game-console business, as well as a sharp drop in desktop CPU volumes.
Both vendors saw sales increase for the quarter, but AMD’s total x86 CPU shipments (excluding IoT, embedded and semi-custom products) grew faster than Intel’s sequentially.
AMD’s share of the overall x86 CPU market excluding those categories reached 30.7% in Q2, up from 30.0% in Q1 and 24.2% a year earlier. Intel’s share fell to 69.3%, from 70.0% in the previous quarter and 75.8% a year earlier.
The server market, which is far more profitable than the desktop/client market, remained one of the strongest areas of growth. x86 server CPU shipments increased by nearly 20% year over year in the second quarter, with demand rising for both traditional data center processors as well as processors used in networking and storage equipment.
AMD’s reported server share, excluding IoT, reached 34.5%, compared with 33.2% in Q1 and 27.3% a year earlier. Intel held 65.5%, down from 66.8% in Q1 and 72.7% a year earlier.
Desktop processors, on the other hand, were the major weak spot in the second quarter for both vendors. Desktop x86 CPU shipments fell by more than 20% year over year, following an already weak first quarter. Both Intel and AMD experienced significant annual declines, although AMD’s decline was smaller.
AMD’s desktop share consequently increased to 34.9%, from 33.2% in Q1 and 32.2% a year earlier. Intel’s share dropped to 65.1%, from 66.8% in Q1 and 67.8% a year earlier.
The weakness appears to extend beyond normal seasonality. The second quarter is typically a relatively soft period for consumer PCs anyway, but there is another factor at play here and that is the supply shortage of components.
There are plenty of CPUs to be had, but memory, storage, and GPUs are coming up very short and very expensive. People are either holding off on purchases due to pricing or they are simply not buying because they can’t get what they want.
Mobile x86 processors provided a much brighter picture, thanks in part to powerful new mobile processors with AI coprocessing in them from both companies. Shipments rose strongly sequentially and posted modest year-over-year growth, contradicting warnings earlier in the year that client CPU demand would remain weak.
AMD’s mobile share nevertheless reached 28.9%, up from 28.3% in Q1 and 20.6% a year earlier. Intel held 71.1%, down slightly from 71.7% sequentially.
Meanwhile, ARM is steadily expanding its presence in PCs, led by Apple and Chromebooks. Mercury estimates that ARM accounted for 15.3% of PC client CPU shipments in Q2, up 0.9 percentage points sequentially and reaching a new record.
The strongest growth came from Apple’s Mac products and ARM-based Chromebooks. Apple’s lower-cost MacBook Neo line is believed to have contributed to the increase, while Chromebook shipments using ARM processors also grew strongly.
