Intel's Atom Processor Drives Mobile PC Processor Segment

SAN MATEO, Calif., November 3, 2008 – Worldwide PC microprocessor shipments in the third calendar quarter of 2008 (3Q08) reached record levels again, according to new data from IDC. However, the outlook for the processor market in 4Q08 and 2009 is very murky.

Worldwide PC processor unit shipments grew 14.0% quarter over quarter (QoQ) and 15.8% year over year (YoY); market revenue grew 7.6% QoQ and 4.1% YoY to $8.3 billion. Intel's new Atom processor for ultra low-cost mobile PCs (which Intel calls "Netbooks") made a notable difference in the overall market performance; without Atom, unit shipments grew 8.3% QoQ and 8.7% YoY.

"Not considering the effects of Atom, the overall market still grew at a decent pace in the third quarter," said Shane Rau, director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC. “"ntel's and AMD's shipments grew at a rate only slightly slower than typical for a third quarter, and seasonal demand appeared reasonable up until September. By segment, while the mobile processor segment grew aggressively, the server segment was soft."

3Q08 Vendor Highlights

In terms of processor vendor shares, on an overall unit basis, Intel earned 80.8% market share, a gain of 1.1%, AMD finished with 18.5%, a loss of 1.2%, and VIA Technologies earned 0.6%.

By form factor, in the mobile PC processor segment, Intel earned 87.4% share, a gain of 0.8%, AMD finished with 11.5%, a loss of 1.1%, and VIA earned 1.2%, a gain of 0.3%.

In the PC server/workstation processor segment, Intel finished with 85.6% market share, a loss of 0.6% and AMD earned 14.4%, a gain of 0.6%. In the desktop PC processor segment, Intel and AMD earned 73.5% and 26.4% share respectively; share changes were negligible.

Market Outlook

Due to the market's strong performance through the first three quarters of 2008 and anticipated high volume of Atom processors, IDC has raised its PC processor market unit forecast for this year to 18.0%. However, the worldwide demand environment looks weak, and both Intel and AMD indicated an uncertain outlook for the market. As a result, IDC is conservative about 2009 and will be lowering its upcoming unit forecast for the year.

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