Intel and AMD Hold Their Ground in Microprocessor Market Share Melee

Posted 12/16/2010 at 9:03am | by Paul Lilly

4

Comments

Print

Market research firm iSuppli declared a "microprocessor stalemate" between Intel and AMD, neither of which was able to wrestle any significant share from the other in the third quarter.

Intel's global microprocessor share dropped ever-so-slightly from 80.4 percent in the second quarter to 80.1 percent in the third, while AMD went from 11.5 percent to 11.3 percent. In other words, both chip makers barely budged.

"In reality, the share changes in the third quarter from the two incumbents were extremely small and not at all significant," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli. "What is significant, however, is that neither company has been able to take any sizable share away from the other. One reason is that each company offers well-matched competitive product portfolios. Another reason is that end markets are not undergoing significant changes in market share of product lineup that would impact microprocessor market share."

AMD fans may want to delcare a tiny victory for the third quarter after having dropped its share 0.1 percent less than Intel, while Intel's fan base will point to the fact that AMD's share is down 0.8 percent from 2009, while Intel's is down just 0.1 percent.

Nothing to get excited about either way, though 2011 could be quite a different story.

"There remains a very competitive situation between the two dominant suppliers," Wilkins added. "In particular, we look forward to seeing the effect that AMD's forthcoming Fusion products might have on the share situation for these two mega-players."