Intel stages surprise desktop CPU comeback as AMD's market share falls below 30%

What happened

Intel stages surprise desktop CPU (the general-purpose processor at the centre of a computer) comeback as AMD's market share falls below 30%, according to TechSpot. According to data from Mercury Research, Intel reclaimed around 5.1 percentage points of desktop CPU market share from AMD in Q3 2026, pushing its total share above 70% and cutting AMD's to below 30% for the first time in years. Hardware Industry intel market share Meanwhile, AMD is focused on the high-margin data center (a building full of computers that runs online services) market By Kishalaya Kundu November 13, 2026, 15:11 Add TechSpot Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Intel is a semiconductor and electrical company based in Santa Clara. AMD is an electrical and semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, and its products and services include computer hardware.

TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust . Winners & losers: After years of losing ground to AMD, Intel finally regained a significant chunk of desktop CPU market share from its bitter rival in Q3 2026.

The shift marks an unexpected turnaround for Intel amid a weaker broader outlook for the PC market. The report suggests that Intel now holds approximately 70.1% of the desktop CPU market, while AMD accounts for the remaining 29.9%.

Intel also dominates the lucrative server market, but it continued to lose significant market share to AMD in this segment. Intel reportedly accounted for 64.5% of all server CPUs sold between July and September, down from 72.2% in Q3 2025.

The sequential figures were only slightly better, with Intel's market share falling one percentage point from 65.5% in Q2 2026. AMD, the world's only other mainstream x86 chip vendor, was the obvious beneficiary, with its market share rising 7.7% year-over-year to 35.5%. Sequentially, the company's share grew by one percentage point from 34.5% in Q2 2026, suggesting a marked slowdown compared to previous quarters.