AMD x86 desktop CPU market share hits eight-year high

AMD has significantly bolstered its desktop x86 CPU market position, achieving a remarkable increase of 5.7% in Q3 2024 compared to the prior quarter. This marks the most significant quarterly rise since market share statistics began being recorded back in 2016. The company's share in the x86 market now stands at 28.7%, representing a whopping 9.5% increase year-over-year.

The surge in AMD's market share correlates with an impressive leap in revenue share, which grew by 8.5% from the previous quarter, according to Mercury Research (via Tom's Hardware). This increase can be attributed to the successful launch of the new Ryzen 9000 series processors during a tumultuous period for rival Intel, whose Raptor Lake chips faced stability issues that generated widespread negative coverage. Moreover, according to Dean McCarron of Mercury Research, inventory adjustments from a key customer have also affected Intel's share.

Image credit: Mercury Research (via Tom's Hardware)

While Intel continues to dominate the client PC sector with 76.1% market share, AMD's gains are noteworthy, increasing by 2.9% quarter-over-quarter and 4.6% year-over-year. Intel's expansive product portfolio and strong presence in the corporate market ensure it retains a leading position, but the shifting dynamics suggest that AMD is tightening the gap.

AMD's best-performing area in Q3 2024 was the desktop segment, with the company capturing its largest share in at least 8 years. However, the company's growth trajectory extends beyond desktops, as it also witnessed progress in the laptop segment. The company captured 22.3% of the x86 laptop CPU market, up 2 percent from the previous quarter and 2.8 percent YoY. Although this figure still trails its peak of 24.8% in Q2 2022, AMD's launch of the Ryzen AI 300 series before Intel's Lunar Lake products may have helped it attract early adopters of x86-based Copilot+ PCs. Lastly, AMD holds a 24.2% share in the server market, with marginal increases of 0.1 pps QoQ and 0.9 pps YoY.

Despite retaining a 75.8% unit market share, Intel faces increasing competition from AMD, as the red team consistently outpaces it in high-end CPU sales. In a remarkable milestone for the company, AMD's data center business unit outperformed Intel's data center and AI division in revenue for the first time in Q3 2024, generating $3.549 billion compared to Intel's $3.3 billion.

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KitGuru says: Do you think AMD will eventually outpace Intel in the x86 market, or will Intel find a way to keep itself in the lead?

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