IDC has released its first quarter figures for the global CPU market, and things are still looking gloomy in Sunnyvale. Despite posting respectable earnings in the recent quarter, AMD's CPU share has continued its descent. IDC's research suggests that AMD's overall slice of the global PC processor market dropped to 18.8% in the first quarter from 19.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 22.3% a year ago.
The chipmaker's share has slipped in all three major processor segments: desktop, mobile, and x86 server. AMD's cut of the desktop market fell to 28% from 28.6% in the previous quarter and 29.8% in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, the company commanded 12.1% of mobile business, down from 12.7% and 15%, and 9.8% of the x86 server market, down from 10.2% and 10.7%.
Overall shipments by all companies fell by 5.6% in the first quarter, but that's not out of the ordinary. In fact, IDC called the decline "modest" and focused more on the huge rise in sales during the fourth quarter, which hints of market recovery and at the very least an improvement in PC demand by the end of 2010.