STOCKS | UBS: Arm's Server CPU Share Rises to 20.1% as Intel's Falls to 51.5%

Global server CPU shipments rose about 6% quarter over quarter and 31% year over year in the third quarter, well above the typical seasonal quarterly increase of about 3%. According to Sina Finance, UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said Arm-based server CPUs' shipment share increased about 2.5 percentage points to 20.1%, while Intel's fell about 2.4 points to 51.5%; AMD's share was roughly unchanged at 28.4%. UBS said robust server demand and expanding AI applications supported shipments. As AI agent applications spread, each GPU will require more CPUs to handle tasks, which UBS said would expand the server CPU market over the long term. The bank estimates that, excluding supply constraints, the global CPU market could exceed $500 billion by 2030. However, memory supply bottlenecks, as AI processors require far more memory than traditional server chips, could bring the achievable market size closer to $210 billion. By contrast, PC CPU shipments fell 6% quarter over quarter in the third quarter, compared with a typical seasonal increase of about 1%. Intel gained shipment share in the PC processor market but lost revenue share in laptop processors. UBS expects rising memory prices and possible subsequent CPU price increases to further restrain PC demand, and lowered its forecast for 2027 global PC shipments from 2% growth to a 4% decline.