Desktop CPU Shipments Fall Nearly 20% as PC Market Faces Growing Pressure

The desktop PC processor market suffered a sharp decline during the first quarter of 2026, with shipments dropping nearly 20 percent year-over-year, according to new data from market research firm Mercury Research.

The decline comes as rising hardware prices, ongoing memory shortages and weakening consumer demand begin to reshape the PC industry.

Desktop Market Hit Harder Than Expected

While overall x86 processor shipments across desktop PCs, laptops, servers and IoT devices fell by roughly 6 percent compared to the same period last year, desktop processors experienced a significantly steeper decline.

According to Mercury Research analyst Dean McCarron, the desktop slowdown exceeded normal seasonal trends.

Although processor shipments typically decline after the holiday quarter, AMD’s desktop sales were described as “unusually weak” during the period.

The weakness appears partly linked to consumers accelerating purchases before anticipated price increases, followed by a sharp drop in demand afterward.

Memory Shortages Continue Affecting PC Demand

The broader PC industry remains under pressure from ongoing shortages of DRAM and flash memory.

Higher component costs have significantly increased the price of desktop PCs, laptops and upgrades throughout 2026.

Consumers who previously planned to upgrade are increasingly delaying purchases as the cost of processors, memory and storage continues to climb.

Industry analysts now believe the market may be shifting from a supply-constrained environment to a demand-constrained one, where products become available but buyers are unwilling to pay elevated prices.

IDC Forecasts Weak Holiday Season

The outlook for the remainder of the year remains challenging.

Research firm IDC recently projected that fourth-quarter PC sales could decline by approximately 20 percent compared to normal holiday-season expectations.

The firm also forecasts an 11.3 percent decline in annual PC shipments, citing continued shortages of memory and storage components.

The prediction is particularly concerning because the fourth quarter traditionally represents the strongest sales period of the year.

AMD Loses Desktop Share but Gains Year Over Year

After several quarters of consistent gains, AMD experienced a setback in desktop processors.

The company lost 3.2 percentage points of desktop market share compared to the end of 2025.

However, AMD still improved significantly compared to the first quarter of 2025, gaining 5.1 percentage points over rival Intel.

The decline appears tied more to changing purchasing behavior than to competitive weakness.

Intel Struggles More in Laptops

The laptop market presented a different story.

Intel’s ongoing supply constraints affected mobile processor availability, contributing to lower notebook CPU shipments.

AMD, meanwhile, continued increasing mobile processor sales during the quarter.

Mercury Research believes Intel’s mobile supply issues may have reached their lowest point and could begin improving throughout the remainder of the year.

Arm Continues Expanding in PCs

Arm-based processors also continued gaining ground.

Processors from companies such as Qualcomm and Apple helped Arm’s share of the PC market rise to approximately 14.4 percent during the first quarter, up from 13.9 percent in the previous quarter.

Future Arm-based products from Nvidia are expected to accelerate that trend further.

Intel Retains Overall Lead

Despite the market turbulence, Intel remains the dominant supplier in the traditional PC processor market.

Mercury Research estimates the current x86 market split at approximately:

• Intel: 70%
• AMD: 30%

Compared to a year ago, Intel lost 5.6 percentage points of market share, with AMD capturing nearly all of those gains.

As component shortages persist and hardware prices remain elevated, analysts expect consumer demand to become one of the industry’s biggest challenges throughout the remainder of 2026.