Q4 2025 Sees 2.7% Growth in Global Client CPU Shipments and 6.5% Increase in Server CPU Sales

The fourth quarter of 2025 witnessed a noteworthy increase in shipments within both the Client and Server x86 CPU markets, with server shipments leading the growth at an impressive 6.5%.

Client & Server CPU Segments Experience Growth in Q4 2025: 2.7% for Client and 6.5% for Server

The most recent market analysis, released by Jon Peddie Research (JPR), aligns closely with findings from Mercury Research. In line with a consistent upward trend, the global client CPU market shows a solid expansion in Q4 2025, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth.

A bar chart titled 'Total client CPUs (M units)' indicating desktop CPUs' stable 31% market share in Q4 '24 — Image Source: Jon Peddie Research

According to the latest statistics, client CPU shipments have risen by 2.7% compared to the previous quarter (Q3 2025).However, there is a decline of 7% when looking back at the same quarter from the previous year (Q4 2024).The current data reveals that the desktop segment now represents 69% of the market share, while notebooks also maintain a commanding 69% share. Contributing factors to this client-side growth include fluctuating tariffs and the conclusion of support for Windows 10, which propelled consumer purchases and shipments.

“We think the PC CPUs’ growth was in line with seasonal buying behavior, albeit a bit low. The influence of the up-again, down-again tariffs, and Microsoft’s withdrawal from support of the 2016 Windows 10, also had an effect, ” stated Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research.“We expect Q1 2026 to be down due to memory constraints and higher prices.”

via JPR

Shifting focus to the server market, there was a considerable surge in global shipments, which increased by 6.5% from the previous quarter (Q3 2025), and saw a striking growth of 13.6% year-over-year (Q4 2025 vs. Q4 2024).This growth can be attributed to the robust demand from data centers and servers designed for artificial intelligence applications.

A bar chart titled 'Server CPUs (M units)' depicting AMD's market share rise from 25.2% in Q4 '24 to 28.8% in Q4 '25, along with Intel's decrease — Image Source: Jon Peddie Research

AMD has successfully increased its server market share to 28.8% in Q4 2025, up from 25.2% the previous year, while Intel’s market share has decreased to 71%, down from 75%.These figures are corroborated by Mercury Research, which indicates that AMD holds a 28.8% share in units and commands 41.3% of revenue share.

As AMD continues to expand its share through an impressive lineup of processors and plans to launch its next-generation Zen 6 family in 2026, Intel is focused on stabilizing its position and enhancing its CPU roadmap for 2026. During the last earnings call, Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, outlined the company’s strategic direction:

“Intel is leaning hard into a simplified, accelerated roadmap—backed by strong server demand and major client portfolio updates—to stabilize and strengthen share as we move further into 2026.”

Datacenter & AI

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