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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallAMD accounted for 34.9% of desktop x86 CPU unit shipments in Q2 2026, while Intel held 65.1%, according to Mercury Research figures reported by Tom’s Hardware. AMD gained share from both the previous quarter and a year earlier, but Intel remained the majority supplier—and AMD’s share gain came while desktop shipments were falling.
How desktop x86 CPU share changed
The figures below are Mercury Research’s desktop x86 CPU unit-shipment shares, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. They compare AMD and Intel within the desktop x86 market; the percentages are not revenue shares or counts of processors already installed in PCs.
| Period | AMD | Intel |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 34.9% | 65.1% |
| Q1 2026 | 33.2% | 66.8% |
| Q2 2025 | 32.2% | 67.8% |
AMD’s share rose 1.7 percentage points quarter over quarter and 2.7 points year over year. Intel’s share moved down by the same amounts. These changes show a shift in the split of shipments, not that AMD surpassed Intel: Intel still shipped nearly two out of every three desktop x86 CPUs in Q2 2026.
Why AMD gained share while shipments fell
The desktop CPU market contracted by more than 20% year over year in Q2 2026, according to Mercury Research figures reported by Tom’s Hardware. PC Games Hardware also reported a decline of more than 20% quarter over quarter. AMD’s own desktop shipments fell, but reporting on Mercury Research’s figures says they declined less than Intel’s—especially sequentially. A company can therefore gain share in a shrinking market if its shipments fall more slowly than a competitor’s.
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Mercury Research principal analyst Dean McCarron, quoted by PC Gamer, described AMD’s desktop shipments as declining “on top of an already poor first quarter,” with smaller year-over-year declines and much smaller sequential declines than Intel’s. The share gain is evidence of relative resilience in that quarter, not evidence that AMD sold more desktop CPUs than before.
Keep desktop share separate from the broader client figure
Mercury Research’s Q2 2026 client x86 figures, as reported by TechSpot, put AMD at 30.3% and Intel at 69.7%. “Client” combines desktop and mobile processors, so this is a different market segment and denominator from the desktop-only 34.9% figure. Neither figure includes Arm processors; both describe unit shipments within x86.
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For context, Mercury Research said, as reproduced by TechSpot, that total x86 and Arm CPU market results were up strongly in Q2 2026, with sequential quarterly growth exceeding 10%. That broad-market statement covers architectures and segments beyond desktop x86 and should not be read as a claim that desktop CPU shipments grew.
What the figures do—and do not—tell buyers
These percentages describe shipments to the market, not the installed base of CPUs in PCs, retail purchases by consumers, or revenue. A shipment-share gain does not establish which brand offers better value, performance, reliability, or suitability for a particular upgrade. Those questions depend on the specific processor, its price, motherboard and memory compatibility, and the buyer’s workload.
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Coverage of the quarter pointed to high prices for components such as memory and SSDs, alongside limited graphics-card availability, as contributing context for a weak desktop environment. Those factors may weigh on PC demand, but the reported figures do not establish them as the sole causes of the market contraction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read future market-share comparisons
- Check the segment: desktop, mobile, or combined client.
- Check the architecture scope: x86 only or a broader market that also includes Arm.
- Check the measure: unit shipments, revenue, or installed base.
- Check the period: quarter over quarter and year over year answer different questions.
Comparisons are meaningful only when those definitions match. AMD’s Q2 result is a clear desktop x86 shipment-share gain, but it is not a direct measure of consumer preference or sales growth.
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