AMD captures third of server CPU market as Intel holds steady amid AI boom

AMD captured 33.2 percent of the server CPU market in the first quarter of 2026, according to Mercury Research, marking a six percentage point gain over the same period last year. The growth came as total x86 server processor shipments rose more than 10 percent year over year, driven by AI datacenter buildout.

Intel still holds a roughly two thirds share of the server CPU market, but its shipments were flat both sequentially and compared to the same quarter a year ago. The overall x86 processor market declined more than 6 percent quarter over quarter, which Mercury attributed to seasonal weakness and lingering supply constraints from Intel's decision to reallocate fabrication capacity to server chips.

Arm server chips nearly double on Nvidia's Grace CPU

Arm based server processors accounted for 13.2 percent of shipments in Q1 2026, up from 12.5 percent in Q4 2025, according to Mercury. That represents nearly double the volume from a year earlier. Mercury president Dean McCarron said the growth is primarily driven by Nvidia's Grace CPU, which ships in the company's rapidly expanding Blackwell NVL72 AI rack platforms.

• AMD's server CPU market share: 33.2 percent, up from approximately 27 percent a year ago.
• Intel's server CPU shipments: flat year over year.
• Arm based server chip shipments: nearly 100 percent growth year over year.
• Total x86 processor shipments: down more than 6 percent quarter over quarter.
• Desktop CPU shipments: down nearly 20 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

Client market shows mixed signals for AMD and Intel

On the client side, desktop CPU shipments declined nearly 20 percent year over year, worse than the seasonal norm. AMD fared surprisingly worse than Intel in desktops, with Intel gaining share to reach 66.8 percent of desktop shipments, though still down from a year ago. AMD held 33.2 percent of that segment. The mobile market fared better, with shipments down only low single digits. AMD’s share of mobile rose to 28.3 percent, up from 22.5 percent a year ago, as Intel faced laptop CPU supply constraints.

Outside the x86 and Arm server realms, Intel introduced a mysterious new datacenter GPU code named Crescent Island. Analysts noted the chip resembles a shelved Nvidia project called Rubin CPX that was intended as a prefill accelerator. Intel's entry could provide an alternative for certain AI workloads, though the company has not disclosed pricing or general availability.

Looking ahead, Mercury cautioned that AMD’s CPU shipments may decline in the second half of 2026 due to a memory supply crisis that the company flagged during its Q1 earnings call. Arm based server chips are expected to continue gaining share as hyperscalers deploy more Grace powered systems. Intel's Crescent Island GPU launch is slated for later this year but faces an uphill battle against Nvidia's established ecosystem.