The launch of AMD’s first-generation Ryzen processors marked the company’s return to competitiveness — not only in the consumer CPU market but also in the high-performance and server segments. It was a major success, though few could have predicted how much ground AMD would go on to recover. Today, Intel’s long-held dominance in both consumer and server CPUs faces serious challenges.
AMD’s Rise and Intel’s Decline in Market Share
According to recent market data from Bernstein Analysis (thanks Wccftech), Intel held a 61% share of the server CPU market by the end of the third quarter of 2025. In early 2019, that figure stood at a staggering 97%. The company suffered two of its most significant declines between the first quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2023.
In the desktop CPU segment, Intel’s position was once overwhelming. Back in 2014, it controlled more than 80% of the market and peaked above 90% in 2017. However, that was precisely when AMD launched its first Ryzen processors. Since then, Intel’s share has steadily fallen, dropping to just above 60% by 2025. AMD now holds more than 30% of the market, while ARM-based processors are slowly carving out their own space.
The laptop CPU market, once Intel’s strongest domain, has also changed dramatically. In 2015, Intel’s share was nearly 100%, but by the end of 2025, it had dropped to just over 60%. AMD has taken more than 20%, and the rest belongs to ARM-based solutions.
Despite losing a considerable amount of market share over the past eight years, Intel still leads across all CPU segments. However, recent product lines have failed to meet expectations. Arrow Lake-S underperformed, and Lunar Lake didn’t deliver the hoped-for improvements. Now, with its upcoming Panther Lake architecture, Intel has the chance to prove it can return to form.
