x86 processor deliveries declined between the third and fourth quarters of 2025, with Intel's production limitations curbing personal computer chip volumes and aiding AMD's progress, particularly within the laptop sector.
AMD shared preliminary data from Mercury Research on Wednesday, while the analyst group provided further insights on Thursday, encompassing Intel's portion of the market. The update verified that AMD established new benchmarks for its presence in laptop and desktop chips alike.
The final quarter of the year generally sees peak demand driven by promotions around Black Friday and end-of-year festivities, prompting purchases of desktop central processing units, full systems, and portable devices. This time, Intel opted to restrict availability of chips for consumer use in favor of data center components, prompted by manufacturing inefficiencies and material shortages that necessitated focusing on more profitable server offerings. Sales of AMD's system-on-chip units for gaming devices also dipped, as those platforms enter their seventh consecutive year without updates, potentially arriving by 2027 according to AMD CEO Lisa Su.
Intel had long maintained roughly an 80 percent dominance in the personal computing unit area compared to 20 percent for others, though this gap has steadily diminished with AMD's rising influence. Currently, the balance stands closer to 70 percent for Intel and 30 percent for AMD.
Setting aside system-on-chip components, AMD's volumes expanded well beyond Intel's both from the prior quarter and over the annual period, yielding notable gains in market position by each metric, according to Mercury Research president Dean McCarron in a briefing for journalists. AMD demonstrated above-average seasonal expansion in every category during the period, barring integrated circuits for gaming that were excluded from this assessment. Meanwhile, Intel faced below-expectation volumes in desktop and laptop areas because of production bottlenecks, and although data center chip increases somewhat mitigated the client-side drop, it did not alter the overall market dynamics.
AMD experienced advances throughout its desktop lineup, extending beyond premium models to include broader categories as seen in earlier periods, with emphasis on moderate-performance options. Coupled with Intel's strategy to reduce emphasis on desktop items, this propelled AMD to a peak level in desktop central processing unit deliveries.
AMD simultaneously reached an all-time high in its proportion of laptop central processing units.
Intel's redirection of manufacturing resources most severely affected its laptop personal computer chip outputs, leading to substantial reductions quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, well short of typical quarterly upticks, McCarron noted. On the other hand, laptop personal computer chips represented AMD's top-performing area that period, driving a substantial rise in its market portion to a fresh maximum.
Assessing ARM-based processors involved greater variability this quarter because robust personal computer retail demand complicated tracking wholesale distributions, McCarron observed. Nevertheless, given Apple's reduced activity in the area, analysts are confident that total ARM personal computer deliveries fell during the quarter, though revisions may occur in future reports owing to the ambiguity.
According to McCarron's projections from Mercury, the ARM segment's footprint in personal computers, covering Apple Macintosh machines and ARM-equipped Chromebooks, amounted to approximately 13.3 percent. This marks a modest decrease from the 13.7 percent recorded the previous year.
Intel's intensified efforts in data centers, matched by AMD's commitments there, spurred considerable upticks in server chip volumes. Intel's deliveries rose at twice the expected seasonal rate, while AMD's surged to three times that benchmark, as McCarron reported.
Rival analyst Jon Peddie Research documented marginally varying figures, noting a 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter rise in the worldwide personal computer central processing unit sector and a 14.1 percent year-over-year climb in server central processing units.
Personal computer central processing unit expansion aligned with standard seasonal patterns but came in somewhat subdued, according to Jon Peddie, head of the firm, in his summary. Factors such as fluctuating import duties and Microsoft's discontinuation of backing for the 2016 edition of Windows 10 played roles. Projections indicate a downturn in the first quarter of 2026 stemming from limitations in memory supplies and elevated manufacturing complexities.