AMD on track to overtake Intel as biggest x86 outfit

AMD is on track to overtake Intel as the leading x86 processor vendor, according to the company's latest financial results. In Q3 2026, AMD's revenue grew by 45 percent year-over-year to $13.4 billion, with the Data Center segment driving much of the growth, up 97 percent year-over-year to $8.5 billion. Client and gaming segment sales declined eight percent to $3.7 billion, a steeper drop than Intel's five percent decline.

Intel projected revenue between $15 billion and $16 billion for its next quarter, indicating little to no growth. AMD, however, expects around $17 billion in revenue for its upcoming quarter, with CEO Lisa Su projecting even stronger growth in 2027. She believes that the company's overall revenue will grow by more than 80 percent, with the data center CPU business expected to double and the data center AI business to significantly outpace that growth.

Su is confident that AMD's supply chain can meet the anticipated demand, and the company is deepening collaborations with its partners to secure long-term capacity for its growth. If these predictions hold true, AMD will likely surpass Intel in the x86 processor market, despite Intel's larger overall revenue due to its foundry operations.

However, AMD is already a leading server CPU technology provider and has outperformed Intel in the GPU market. Strong sales of Ryzen mobile processors contributed to the decline in client and gaming revenue, which was mostly driven by PC chip sales rising seven percent year-over-year to $2.9 billion. AMD's focus on big corporate buyers for its client business, such as large enterprises and healthcare institutions, could lead to more stable and potentially higher profits.

Investor sentiment was positive, with AMD's stock price rising around five percent in after-hours trading.