Server CPU Shipments to Top 50 Million in 2027 as AMD Pulls Ahead of Intel on Revenue

The server CPU market is heading into its busiest stretch in years. DIGITIMES projects that global server CPU shipments will reach 52.6 million units in 2027, up 45.7% from the previous year. The same forecast says AMD will overtake Intel on server CPU revenue, even though Intel will still ship the most chips.

Why is server CPU demand climbing?

Four forces are driving the surge: agentic AI workloads, the continued build-out of AI servers, cloud service providers (CSPs) ramping up their own in-house CPUs, and a rebound in replacement demand for general-purpose servers. Each one needs more processing capacity, and the central processing unit remains the core of every server. You can read more about the basics on the Wikipedia entry for the central processing unit.

The 2027 numbers at a glance

AMD closes in on Intel

Intel is expected to keep the top spot in unit shipments, but its share is forecast to slip to 39%. AMD is projected to rise to 30.4%, which narrows the gap between the two rivals. The bigger shift is in revenue. AMD’s server CPU revenue is forecast at US$31.2 billion, ahead of Intel’s US$28.7 billion, helped by a higher average selling price and a sharp increase in shipments. Learn more about the two companies on the official AMD website and Intel website.

Arm’s fast growth

The fastest growth in the forecast belongs to Arm-based chips, which are projected to rise 79.1%, against 35.3% for x86 processors. Cloud providers designing their own processors are a major reason. Arm’s underlying design is explained in the Arm architecture family article, and the x86 design that Intel and AMD share is covered in the x86 article.

Supply is the real bottleneck

Demand is not the only question. DIGITIMES warns that supply will limit how quickly shipments can grow. The main constraints are:

• Tight allocation of advanced process capacity at chipmakers
• Limited supply of T-Glass and ABF substrates, the specialised materials used in chip packaging
• Memory capacity being pulled toward AI accelerators, which are specialised chips built for AI workloads

In DIGITIMES’ view, the speed at which these key components ramp up will be the most important variable for how many server CPUs actually ship in 2027.

What it means

For data centres and enterprises, 2027 is shaping up as a year of strong buying, with more choice between x86 and Arm. For AMD, it could mark a turning point, with revenue leadership in server CPUs for the first time in this comparison. For Intel, the message is that it remains the largest supplier by volume, but it faces a sharper challenge than before. Whether the forecast holds will depend largely on how fast the supply chain can keep up.

Source: DIGITIMES analysis. All figures are forecasts for 2027, not reported results. For more technology coverage, visit the TechnoSports technology section or return to the TechnoSports homepage.

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