Large demand for Ryzen X3D chips sparked a loopy quarter for CPUs
The CPU market skilled its most tumultuous quarter in a while, lowering as an entire for AMD and Intel by way of unit shipments. As Intel struggles, nevertheless, its opponents are seizing alternative the place they will.
Mercury Analysis launched its report for the CPU marketplace for the primary quarter of 2025, and behind the numbers are a number of tales to inform. Arm’s market share has lastly damaged into double digits. AMD, in the meantime, is in all places: robust in servers, particularly robust in desktop PCs, however unexpectedly weak in pocket book shipments.
General X86 processor models declined, Mercury mentioned. That’s regular for the second quarter, as {hardware} gross sales are likely to crest within the fall and drop within the spring or summer season. (Mercury saves this exact data for its paid purchasers.)
Whole X86 share — together with PCs, embedded processors and systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) like recreation processors, once more favors AMD, because it grew 1.5 share factors to 27.1 p.c. Intel holds the remaining 72.9 p.c. Subtract embedded and SOC numbers, nevertheless, and AMD misplaced barely, shrinking 0.3 share factors to 24.4 p.c and leaving Intel with the rest.
Mercury Analysis
Each AMD and Intel additionally noticed sequential will increase in server processors, as nicely, supporting what appears to be Wall Avenue’s perception that the extra silicon shipped into the enterprise and AI area, the higher. In comparison with the identical quarter final yr, server processor unit shipments grew a whopping 20 p.c, Mercury discovered.
Arm continues to surge
And Arm? That’s on the the rise, too, reaching double-digit market share within the shopper PC market, which incorporates PCs and Chromebooks. PCs, Chromebooks, and Apple Mac PCs with Arm chips inside them now make up 13.9 p.c of the market, up from 10.9 p.c within the fourth quarter of 2024. It’s the primary time Arm has reached double digits in total share, together with servers — that climbed from 9.6 p.c within the fourth quarter to 11.9 p.c within the first quarter of 2024.
Mercury Analysis
“Whereas Apple’s Mac shipments have been decrease, we famous a modest improve in ARM CPUs going into Copilot enabled PCs,” Mercury principal analyst Dean McCarron mentioned in an emailed assertion. “Nevertheless, the general estimate for ARM shopper was a lot larger within the quarter primarily to what we imagine was a big improve in shipments of processors into Chromebooks.”
Mercury acknowledged, because it has up to now, that it has extra issue monitoring the Chromebook processor market than the key PC distributors. Nonetheless, he mentioned, “the rise in ARM Chromebook exercise up to now quarter additionally strongly helps a big improve in ARM CPU shipments into the section” alongside wins for Intel’s X86-based N-series chips as nicely.
AMD: up and down,
Intel, in fact, has weathered the departure of 1 CEO, the hiring of one other, and layoffs which have stitched collectively each administrations. Each AMD and Qualcomm have benefited.
The sudden surge in AMD’s desktop shipments took an sudden flip. Usually, customers purchase PC processors throughout vacation gross sales. However Mercury discovered that buyers snapped up AMD’s Ryzen 9000 (Granite Ridge) in addition to the 9000X3D variations of these CPUs, pushing the promoting value of AMD’s desktop (and total shopper) to document ranges. The typical promoting value really exceeded Intel’s ASP for the primary time ever, McCarron mentioned.
Mercury Analysis
“The typical value improve [was] so giant that AMD’s revenues have been up considerably and set new information despite the fact that desktop unit shipments declined and are lower than half of AMD’s peak for the section,” Mercury’s McCarron wrote.
AMD’s progress within the server area was “multiples” of Intel’s personal, McCarron mentioned, setting a brand new document excessive at 27.2 p.c total,
AMD, nevertheless, couldn’t sustain with the competitors in cellular. Although AMD and Intel each declined, Intel’s declines have been a lot smaller than AMD, and so it gained 1.2 share factors of market share. Mercury attributed that to Intel capitalizing on its conventional success in enterprise PCs, and AMD struggling regular declines. (PC distributors and particularly Microsoft have pushed exhausting for purchasers to exchange their Home windows 10 PCs with a Home windows 11 machine when Home windows 10 assist ends this October.)
Mercury Analysis
Qualcomm has but to launch a desktop CPU, too, that means that Arm’s affect within the PC market has targeted solely on pocket book PCs.
Nevertheless, that drop was partially offset in AMD’s progress in SOCs, which principally equate to the processors present in recreation consoles. Right here, AMD gained 1.5 share factors.
The one phrase which didn’t seem in Mercury’s report: tariffs. PC distributors have mentioned beforehand that the CPU market is one section that doesn’t endure from tariffs, because the three prime CPU distributors all have their “level of origin” in the US.
