Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) continued to strengthen their positions in the server processor market during the first quarter of 2026, taking additional share from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), according to a new report published by UBS.
The report also showed that personal computer shipments remained weaker than typical seasonal patterns for a second consecutive quarter.
Server CPU Shipments Beat Seasonal Trends
UBS said total server CPU shipments increased about 6% from the previous quarter and roughly 19% year over year, significantly outperforming the normal seasonal trend, which historically points to a 7% quarterly decline.
On a unit-share basis, Intel lost approximately 370 basis points of market share, ending the quarter at 54.9%. AMD gained 230 basis points to reach 27.4%, while ARM expanded by 140 basis points to 17.7%.
“On a Y/Y basis ARM share increased from 11.5% to 17.7%, AMD grew from 24.1% to 27.4%, while INTC share declined from 64.4% to 54.9%,” UBS analysts led by Timothy Arcuri wrote in the report.
AMD Gains Momentum in x86 Server Segment
Within the x86 server processor market, Intel’s revenue share fell by 490 basis points to 53.8%, while AMD’s share climbed to 46.2%.
The shift came as Intel’s server processor shipments declined 1% quarter over quarter, compared with a 15% increase for AMD during the same period.
UBS analysts said they expect the trend to continue, pointing to accelerating hyperscaler investment and rising demand linked to agentic artificial intelligence workloads.
Following 21% server CPU market growth in 2025, UBS said the outlook remains strong as hyperscaler capital expenditures are projected to increase around 81% year over year.
AI Demand Seen Driving ARM and AMD Adoption
“While all CPU architectures will benefit from increasing AI demand near-term, we see strong hyperscaler adoption of ARM for head nodes and other applications in light of its power-efficient architecture, while AMD is well positioned with industry-leading core count combined with multithreading capabilities allowing to serve agentic workloads with multiple sub-agents on one device,” the analysts wrote.
For Intel, UBS argued that the company’s server roadmap “will likely become more competitive with introduction of Coral Rapids lineup,” while adding that Intel could benefit in the PC segment over the medium term as locally-run AI workloads increase demand for computing power.
PC Shipments Remain Under Pressure
In the PC market, first-quarter shipments declined 13% from the previous quarter, performing six percentage points below the five-year seasonal average and marking a 6% annual decline.
UBS forecasts global PC shipments will decrease roughly 11% during 2026 as higher memory prices continue to pressure consumer and enterprise demand. The bank also expects AMD to continue taking client processor market share from Intel.
UBS Sees Massive Long-Term Growth in Server CPU Market
Looking further ahead, UBS estimates the global server CPU market could expand nearly fivefold by 2030, growing from around $30 billion in 2025 to approximately $170 billion.
The bank projects ARM could account for between 40% and 45% of total server CPU unit shipments by the end of the decade, compared with roughly 15% in 2025.