Status quo in global processor market

Posted on Wednesday, June 10 2009 @ 19:21 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Market research firm iSuppli has released a report about global microprocessor revenue in the first quarter of 2009, this report includes data from all types of microprocessors and is not limited to x86. The figures show AMD managed to gain 2.3 percent of the market sequentially, but compared to the same period a year earlier the company lost 0.1 percent. Intel on the other hand gained 0.1 percent year-over-year, while losing 2.5 percent sequentially.

Intel held 79.1 percent of the market's revenue in Q1 2009, followed by AMD at 12.8 percent while all other players combined had 8.1 percent.
“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 Matthew Wilkins, iSuppli’s principal analyst for compute platforms research. “AMD increased its allocation of global microprocessor revenue due to strong performances in each area of its microprocessor portfolio, particularly in its Notebook products. This was an impressive feat given the economic downturn and the weakness in the PC and server markets, which caused global microprocessor revenue in the first quarter to decline by 20.6 percent to $6.9 billion, down from $8.6 billion during the same period in 2008.”

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,” Wilkins said. “However, the strength of Intel’s broad product line in microprocessors for desktops, servers and notebooks was the major factor driving its success.”

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.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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