AMD Scores Highest Server-Market-Share Gain Against Intel In 15 Years

Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD grabbed the largest market share since 2006 against rival chipmaker Intel Corp INTC in the server market with EPYC processors in the first quarter, according to Mercury Research (via CRN.)

What Happened: According to the report, AMD’s server CPU share grew 1.8 basis points to 8.9% compared with Intel’s decline in Data Center Group revenue for the first quarter. AMD’s server market share in Q1 was 3.8 points higher than the same period last year, the CRN report said — citing data analytics firm Mercury Research.

AMD sold fewer low-end CPUs and more high-end CPUs in the first quarter resulting in an overall increase in average selling prices for its chips, recording its fastest growth since 2006.

“This explains how AMD reported in its earnings that it had record server and client revenues, even though units were down in client and server units are far from the company’s record shipments of 15 years ago,” the report said citing Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research.

AMD designs microprocessors for the computer and consumer electronics industries. The majority of the firm's sales are in the personal computer and data center markets via CPUs and GPUs. 

See Also: AMD Is Firing On All Cylinders But Its Profitability Depends On Lean Operations

Why It Matters: AMD’s server CPU market share peaked in 2006, rising from around 5%-7% to about 22% in only 18 months boosted by its 64-bit Opteron processors, according to the report. Intel however regained market share leading to a steady decline for AMD server CPU shipments over the following 10 years before the chipmaker started its comeback in 2017 with EPYC.

AMD reported a strong earnings report last month, guiding a revenue growth of 50% YoY in 2021 whereas Intel expects a revenue decline of 1% YoY.

Price Action: AMD shares closed 1.18% higher at $78.81 on Friday and those of Intel closed 0.84% higher at $57.67.