Intel's x86 CPU Market Share Falls Below 70% for the First Time in Over Three Decades

According to the latest data from Mercury Research, Intel's dominance in the x86 CPU market has reached a significant milestone. In the second quarter of 2026, Intel's x86 CPU market share dropped to 69.3%, marking the first time since 1995 that the company has fallen below the 70% threshold. This represents a 6.5 percentage point decline compared to the same period last year.

AMD has capitalized on this shift, achieving a record 30.7% share of the x86 CPU market. Mercury Research president Dean McCarron confirmed this 31-year low for Intel following the release of the Q2 CPU market share report. The figures reflect shipments of PC and server CPUs only. When including semi-custom, embedded, and IoT products, Intel's market share drops further to 65.9%, while AMD rises to 34.1%. AMD's gains in this broader category are largely attributed to robust gaming console SoC shipments—a segment where Intel has minimal presence, aside from its Arc G3 CPUs for handheld devices.

Segment Breakdown: Desktop, Server, and Laptop Markets

Examining the market by segment reveals further insights into the shifting landscape:

  • Desktop CPUs: AMD's share climbed to 34.9%, up 2.7 points year over year, while Intel holds 65.1%. This growth comes despite Intel CPUs recently reappearing in Amazon's CPU Top 10 sales rankings.
  • Server CPUs: AMD made significant strides, increasing its share by 7.3 points year over year to reach 34.5%. Intel remains ahead at 65.5%. The server market remains highly competitive, with AMD launching its 6th Gen EPYC "Venice" processors based on the "Zen 6" architecture, and Intel announcing its upcoming Xeon 7 "Diamond Rapids" CPUs and "Crescent Island" graphics cards for data centers and workstations.
  • Laptop CPUs: AMD experienced its largest gains in the laptop segment, rising to 28.9%, an 8.4-point increase year over year. Intel maintains a 71.1% share in this category.

Overall, AMD's total PC market share reached a new high of 30.3%, up 6.4 points from the previous year.

Industry Response and Competitive Dynamics

Intel responded to these developments by highlighting record year-over-year sales growth in its Data Center Group and an increasing number of long-term supply agreements. On the channel side, a U.S. systems integrator executive noted that Intel has recently intensified its partner engagement after a period when AMD was receiving more attention. "I think they're realizing that they have to be active," the executive commented anonymously to CRN.

The ongoing competition between Intel and AMD continues to drive innovation and reshape the x86 CPU market, with both companies introducing new products and strategies to capture market share across desktop, server, and laptop segments.