Mercury Research (via The Register) has reported that AMD has achieved significant market share gains in the server, desktop, and mobile CPU sectors during the fourth quarter of 2023. For the first time in two years, total x86 processor shipments have seen year-on-year growth. Particularly noteworthy is that AMD's overall share for 2023 has risen to 31.1 percent, marking a historical peak for the company.
Server Sector Growth
In the server domain, AMD now commands 23.1 percent of market sales, a substantial improvement from the 17.6 percent recorded in the previous year. The entire server CPU sector has exhibited growth, with both AMD and Intel reporting increased shipments. Intel's advancement is partly accredited to the new “Sapphire Rapids” Xeon Scalable processors, while the surge for AMD is attributed to their 4th generation EPYC processors, including the “Genoa” and “Bergamo” lines. Outside traditional datacenter applications, server-class CPUs have also expanded in networking and storage, demonstrated by growth in Intel's Xeon D and Atom products.
Desktop and Mobile Dominance
Looking at desktop processors, AMD's market presence grew from 18.6 percent to 19.8 percent in the fourth quarter. The growth in the desktop segment is credited to the adoption of AMD's Ryzen chips and an unexpected increase in demand for the “Vermeer” series. In the mobile chip sector, AMD saw an even more significant jump to 20.3 percent market share, up from 16.4 percent, largely due to the new “Phoenix Point” Ryzen 7040 series and “Mendocino” processors. Meanwhile, Intel recorded growth in its “Raptor Lake” Core chips and also saw its “Meteor Lake” Core Ultra chips ship during the same period.
Intel, despite the increase in AMD's share, continues to hold the majority market share in desktop, mobile, and server CPUs. Even when including client and server CPUs, in addition to IoT and semi-custom products such as gaming consoles, Intel managed to expand its total share to 71.4 percent in the fourth quarter, an increase from 68.7 percent the previous year.
Arm-based systems, not covered in the x86 market share, have also shown progress, though at a slower pace due to the recovery of x86 chip inventories. Arm's PC client CPU share, counting products like Chromebooks and Apple's M-series Macs, was estimated at 10.2 percent in the fourth quarter, a slight decrease from the prior quarter.
The figures by Mercury Research indicate a shifting landscape in CPU market dynamics, as AMD continues to challenge Intel's established dominance with impressive growth figures across key sectors. As competition heightens, the industry is likely to witness continued innovation and performance enhancements to meet the dynamic demands of the evolving technology market.
