Thought Leadership
For the fourth quarter, AMD expects around 17 billion dollars in revenue, Intel 15 to 16 billion. The driver is the data center business.
AMD could generate more revenue than Intel for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2026. For the months of October to December, AMD expects revenue of around 17 billion US dollars, with a range of plus or minus 3 percent. Intel had projected 15 to 16 billion dollars for the same quarter.
If both companies reach the midpoint of their forecasts, AMD would be about 1.5 billion dollars ahead of Intel. That would be the first time in the history of both companies. The forecast corresponds to an increase of 66 percent compared to the previous year and 27 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Record in the Third Quarter
In the third quarter of 2026, AMD’s revenue rose by 45 percent compared to the previous year to 13.377 billion dollars, a record high. Net income under US GAAP grew by 95 percent to 2.43 billion dollars. The stock rose by several percent after hours.
“The third quarter was the highest revenue and most profitable in our history as we began ramping our next-generation data center products.”
Lisa Su, AMD CEO
Data Centers Almost Doubled
The driver is the data center business. Revenue in the segment rose by 97 percent to 8.55 billion dollars, driven by Epyc series server processors and the new Instinct MI455X AI accelerators. For the fourth quarter, AMD expects another significant increase, primarily through the ramp-up of accelerators and Helios-type rack systems. The PC and gaming business, by contrast, is shrinking.
Revenue in the Client and Gaming division fell by 8 percent to 3.7 billion dollars in the third quarter, and in the gaming area alone by 40 percent to 773 million dollars. For the fourth quarter, AMD expects a decline of more than 20 percent compared to the previous quarter in Client and Gaming. As the reason, the company cites increased memory prices, which are dampening demand for PCs. For 2027, AMD expects a double-digit decline in PC shipments.
Intel Under Pressure
When presenting its figures, Intel had issued a forecast below analysts’ expectations and pointed to weakness in the PC market. The group is shifting manufacturing capacity from PC to server processors to serve high demand from data centers. AMD is also securing capacity for future AI products: According to reports, the company has booked the majority of production at Samsung’s second fab in Texas for base dies of HBM memory from 2030 onward.
(Editorial Team)
