CPU makers Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, XETRA:AMD), Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL), Arm Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:ARM) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM, XETRA:QCI) are all reporting earnings in the coming weeks, and Bank of America says the results will tell very…
fferent stories depending on the business. PC and smartphone sales are still struggling, both down more than 10-15% year-over-year in 2026 estimates
But AI server chips are a different picture entirely. Demand keeps climbing as more companies adopt agentic AI and keep spending on data center buildout. BofA flagged a few big questions investors should watch this earnings season: how big the server CPU market really is (estimates range from $120 billion to $200 billion or more), whether recent price increases will stick, how much CPU power each new AI system actually needs, whether supply can keep up with demand, and how market share will shake out as more chip options hit the market.
Speed or scale? There’s also a real debate brewing over what makes a CPU good at AI. Some, including Nvidia, argue that faster individual cores matter most since they cut down latency on tool calls.