Competition returns to CPU
Intel’s
Microprocessor Share Declines in Q1, Ending Streak
Intel Corp.’s year-long streak
of sequential market-share gains in the global microprocessor business ended in
the first quarter of 2009, as chief rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
staged a comeback, according to iSuppli
Corp.
Microprocessor
giant Intel suffered a 2.5 point decrease in share, with its portion of global
revenue declining to 79.1 percent, down from 81.6 percent in the fourth quarter
of 2008. Meanwhile, AMD gained share at a nearly equivalent rate, with its share
in the first quarter rising by 2.3 points to 12.8 percent, up from 10.5 percent
in the fourth quarter.
“After losing share to Intel
on a sequential basis during three out of four quarters in 2008, AMD managed to
reverse the trend in the first quarter of 2009,” said
The attached figure presents
iSuppli’s estimate of global microprocessor revenue
market share in the first quarter of 2009.
Please note that iSuppli’s market share comprises all types of
microprocessors, including x86, RISC and other types of general-purpose devices.
This Market share information is not simply limited to x86 microprocessors used
in PCs.
After declining slightly in
the fourth quarter of 2007 to 78 percent, Intel gained share throughout 2008,
with its portion of global revenue rising to 79 percent in the first quarter of
2008, to 79.2 percent in the second quarter, to 80.3 percent in the third
quarter and to 81.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
“Intel widened its lead in
2008 partly due to its Atom microprocessor, which has achieved major success in
the fast-growing netbook PC market,”
Intel’s decline in the first
quarter was as a result of the contraction in the PC and server markets, where
end-application demand is suffering from the credit crisis.
Despite AMD’s rise in share,
both it and Intel suffered revenue declines due to the poor economic and market
conditions. Those factors are expected to continue to hamper the global
microprocessor business in 2009, with full-year revenue set to $28.6 billion,
down 15.8 percent from $34 billion in 2008.
