Intel and AMD have both announced Q3 sales figures and with it projected fourth quarter sales, and it looks like AMD is set to make history and outsell Intel for the first time.
AMD projects fourth-quarter revenue of $17 billion, plus or minus 3%. By contrast, Intel has forecast revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion in Q4, which is traditionally the best quarter of the year for chip makers due to Christmas sales.
If both companies meet their projections, AMD would establish a significant lead over its longtime rival. It would be a huge blow to Intel, which has been mounting something of a comeback.
The forecast follows a record third quarter for AMD, driven by surging demand for its EPYC server processors and Instinct AI accelerators. Intel, meanwhile, is contending with softer PC demand, component shortages, and manufacturing constraints that are limiting its near-term growth prospects.
AMD reported third-quarter revenue of $13.38 billion, up 45% from $9.25 billion a year earlier. Net income exploded 95% year-over-year to $2.43 billion, while gross margin reached 54%.
Intel beat AMD handily in Q3, with revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21% year-over-year. Net income was $3.3 billion, down 24% from the $4.1 billion a year earlier
AMD’s data center division has become the company’s principal growth engine and the reason for its surge. Revenue from the segment reached a record $8.55 billion in the third quarter, nearly doubling from $4.34 billion a year earlier and accounting for approximately 64% of total company sales.
Intel also has a data center business and it brought in $7.3 billion in revenue, up 78% year-over-year. But it doesn’t have a GPU business like AMD does, and GPUs are far more lucrative than CPUs. That’s how NVIDIA is able to put up such great numbers every quarter.
So as AMD’s Instinct business grows, that’s going to help it build a lead on Intel because Intel has nothing really competitive to offer.
AMD expects its data center revenue to reach approximately $12.8 billion in the fourth quarter, supported by the expansion of its Instinct business and the rollout of rack-scale systems.
AMD also anticipates substantial growth in 2027. Chief Executive Lisa Su said on the earnings call with Wall Street analysts the company expects server CPU revenue to double year over year, while revenue from data center AI accelerators and rack-scale systems is projected to more than double.
As a result, AMD expects its data center business to account for more than 80% of total revenue in 2027, up from 64% in the third quarter of 2026.
