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CPUs are having their main-character moment
For years, the AI conversation has been all about GPUs — the flashy, high-performance chips doing the heavy lifting. But AMD CEO Lisa Su says the new wave of AI agents is creating a second, less glamorous but very real demand spike for CPUs, the workhorse chips that keep all the orchestration humming.
And that matters. Su said AMD now thinks the CPU market could grow faster than its earlier 18% to 20% annual estimate and might end up above $120 billion by the end of the decade. That’s not a tiny tweak. That’s AMD basically saying, “Hey, the pie got bigger, and we want a fatter slice.”
Why investors are listening
Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon added some extra Wall Street seasoning, arguing that AMD’s latest execution makes its growth story more believable. He also pointed out the obvious-but-important wrinkle: AMD sells both CPUs and GPUs, while Intel is still missing a meaningful GPU business. In AI land, having both tools in the toolbox is kind of the whole game.
A few takeaways from the commentary:
- AI agents could push more general-purpose compute into data centers
- AMD says the CPU-to-GPU mix is moving closer to 1-to-1 in some workloads
- Server CPU revenue growth appears to be coming from higher unit shipments, which suggests share gains
- AMD’s roadmap — including the upcoming MI450 GPU platform — is keeping the bull case alive
The stock market still likes the story, just not perfectly
Despite the upbeat narrative, AMD shares were down 2.25% on Thursday to $411.91. So yes, the stock is still sitting near its 52-week high — but traders clearly wanted a perfect victory lap and got, well, a slightly sweaty jog instead.
Big picture: AMD is trying to prove it’s not just an AI hype beneficiary. It wants to be one of the companies actually selling the picks, shovels, and the instruction manual for the gold rush.