AMD Ryzen CPUs will further threaten Intel this year, analysts predict

What you need to know

• AMD's market share could reach the mid-20s, according to an industry analyst.
• AMD reached a desktop market share of 18.3 percent in Q4 2019, according to a recent report.
• AMD made significant strides against Intel over the last decade and looks to continue that momentum.

AMD could reach a market share in the mid-20s, according to an industry analyst. Mitch Steves of RBC Capital Market thinks that "share gains in PCs will continue to move into the mid-20% market share range, and we have higher conviction in server units in both 2020 and 2021" (via The Street). AMD still lags behind Intel by a significant margin across several markets but continues to show steady improvement.

Figures recently came out covering Q4 2019, including a 1.5 percent increase in mobile market share by AMD (excluding IoT). That fourth-quarter increase capped a year in which AMD grew by 4 percent overall in the mobile space. AMD's desktop market share (excluding IoT) didn't grow as much in 2019 but sat at 18.3 percent in Q4 2020.

AMD's new laptop chips could finally break Intel's dominance

Intel faced severe CPU shortages in the second half of 2019, which likely contributed to AMD's growth in market share. Additionally, AMD's strong Ryzen offering continues to perform well. AMD's upcoming Ryzen 4000 chips will play a role in how AMD competes in the upcoming years.

Steves also expects 'bullish news' at AMD's analyst day on March 5. Steves expects AMD to announce a "path to 30% market share in CPU servers."

These are predictions, so only time will tell how AMD fairs over the next couple years. If the past year is any indication, there's a good chance that AMD will continue to trend upward in terms of market share.