ClientNarrow moat

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) — moat facet

A 25% fall in 2023, then two years of 51% growth; in 2026 the units are rising and the price is not.

Client is AMD's second-largest line and the one that moves most with the personal-computer market. It brought in $10,640 million in 2025, against $7,054 million in 2024, $4,651 million in 2023 and $6,201 million in 2022.12

Client processors, change on a year earlier (%)-12%Units 2023-16%ASP 2023+31%Units 2025+15%ASP 2025+34%Units Q2'26-6%ASP Q2'26AMD Forms 10-K FY2023 and FY2025 and Q2 2026 10-Q
Price and volume fell together, rose together, and have now split.

What is inside the line is the processors and chipsets that go into desktops and laptops, sold under the Ryzen name since the first Zen products in March 2017.34

The history the filings show begins with a slump. In 2023 Client revenue fell 25%, on a 16% decrease in average selling price and a 12% decrease in unit shipments, as weak PC demand and an inventory correction in the supply chain hit the first half of the year.5 The segment made an operating loss of $46 million, against a profit of $1.2 billion in 2022.6

Recovery came in two years. Revenue rose 51.7% in 2024 and 51% in 2025, and in 2025 the filing attributes the increase to a 31% rise in processor units and a 15% rise in average selling price.78 Price and volume both fell together in 2023 and both rose together in 2025, which is what a mature, cyclical market looks like from inside.

It is paid per processor, largely through the computer makers, and the units AMD sells depend on how many computers they build. AMD has reported Client and Gaming as a single segment since the first quarter of 2025, so Client's own profit is no longer disclosed. The combined segment earned $2,855 million in 2025, against $1,187 million in 2024 and $925 million in 2023.9

The first half of 2026 changed the mix of the growth. Client revenue rose 24% to $5.9 billion, on a 29% increase in unit shipments partly offset by a 3% lower average price; in the June quarter units rose 34% and the average price fell 6%.10 The unit growth came mainly from Ryzen mobile processors.11 AMD passed 30% of x86 client shipments for the first time, at 30.3%.12

The outlook is share taken inside a market that is not growing, and against Arm-based processors that take share from both x86 makers. The page on the Arm encroachment covers that.

This is a narrow moat: a licensed duopoly in x86 in which AMD is the smaller partner and gaining. The figure to follow is the average selling price. Unit growth with a falling price, as in the June 2026 quarter, means share bought at the low end; units and price rising together, as in 2025, means share won on the product.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Units up 34% in the June 2026 quarter but the average price down 6%, inside a PC market that is not growing.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Client processor average selling price, latest quarter
-6% year on year in Q2 2026, with units +34%

Units rising with a falling price means share bought at the low end; both rising, as in 2025, means share won on the product.

Source: AMD Form 10-Q, Q2 2026 ↗
References
  1. ReportedIt brought in $10,640 million in 2025, against $7,054 million in 2024, $4,651 million in 2023 and $6,201 million in 2022.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2025 - segment note and MD&A: revenue 2023-2025 Data Center $6,496M/$12,579M/$16,635M, Client $4,651M/$7,054M/$10,640M, Gaming $6,212M/$2,595M/$3,910M, Embedded $5,321M/$3,557M/$3,454M of $22,680M/$25,785M/$34,639M; operating income Data Center $1,267M/$3,482M/$3,603M, Client and Gaming $925M/$1,187M/$2,855M, Embedded $2,628M/$1,421M/$1,243M, All Other ($4,419M)/($4,190M)/($4,007M) incl. $2.3bn amortization in 2025; Client and Gaming combined into one reportable segment from Q1 2025; 2025 drivers: Data Center +32% on EPYC and Instinct demand, ~$440M MI308 charges; Client +51% on 31% more units and a 15% higher ASP; Gaming +51% on semi-custom and Radeon; Embedded -3% as certain end market demand remained mixed; segment product descriptions — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt brought in $10,640 million in 2025, against $7,054 million in 2024, $4,651 million in 2023 and $6,201 million in 2022.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2023 - segment revenue 2022 Data Center $6,043M, Client $6,201M, Gaming $6,805M, Embedded $4,552M of $23,601M; 2023 drivers: Data Center +7% on Instinct and 4th Gen EPYC, operating income $1.8bn to $1.3bn on mix and R&D; Client -25% on a 16% lower ASP and 12% fewer units, operating loss $46M against $1.2bn; Gaming -9% on lower semi-custom revenue, operating income $953M to $971M; Embedded +17% on a full year of Xilinx (acquired 14 Feb 2022), operating income $2,252M to $2,628M — FY2022-FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  3. ReportedWhat is inside the line is the processors and chipsets that go into desktops and laptops, sold under the Ryzen name since the first Zen products in March 2017.
    AMD Zen architecture launch (Ryzen, March 2017; EPYC, June 2017) — 2017 · publ. 2017 · source ↗
  4. ReportedWhat is inside the line is the processors and chipsets that go into desktops and laptops, sold under the Ryzen name since the first Zen products in March 2017.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2025 - segment note and MD&A: revenue 2023-2025 Data Center $6,496M/$12,579M/$16,635M, Client $4,651M/$7,054M/$10,640M, Gaming $6,212M/$2,595M/$3,910M, Embedded $5,321M/$3,557M/$3,454M of $22,680M/$25,785M/$34,639M; operating income Data Center $1,267M/$3,482M/$3,603M, Client and Gaming $925M/$1,187M/$2,855M, Embedded $2,628M/$1,421M/$1,243M, All Other ($4,419M)/($4,190M)/($4,007M) incl. $2.3bn amortization in 2025; Client and Gaming combined into one reportable segment from Q1 2025; 2025 drivers: Data Center +32% on EPYC and Instinct demand, ~$440M MI308 charges; Client +51% on 31% more units and a 15% higher ASP; Gaming +51% on semi-custom and Radeon; Embedded -3% as certain end market demand remained mixed; segment product descriptions — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIn 2023 Client revenue fell 25%, on a 16% decrease in average selling price and a 12% decrease in unit shipments, as weak PC demand and an inventory correction in the supply chain hit the first half of the year.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2023 - segment revenue 2022 Data Center $6,043M, Client $6,201M, Gaming $6,805M, Embedded $4,552M of $23,601M; 2023 drivers: Data Center +7% on Instinct and 4th Gen EPYC, operating income $1.8bn to $1.3bn on mix and R&D; Client -25% on a 16% lower ASP and 12% fewer units, operating loss $46M against $1.2bn; Gaming -9% on lower semi-custom revenue, operating income $953M to $971M; Embedded +17% on a full year of Xilinx (acquired 14 Feb 2022), operating income $2,252M to $2,628M — FY2022-FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe segment made an operating loss of $46 million, against a profit of $1.2 billion in 2022.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2023 - segment revenue 2022 Data Center $6,043M, Client $6,201M, Gaming $6,805M, Embedded $4,552M of $23,601M; 2023 drivers: Data Center +7% on Instinct and 4th Gen EPYC, operating income $1.8bn to $1.3bn on mix and R&D; Client -25% on a 16% lower ASP and 12% fewer units, operating loss $46M against $1.2bn; Gaming -9% on lower semi-custom revenue, operating income $953M to $971M; Embedded +17% on a full year of Xilinx (acquired 14 Feb 2022), operating income $2,252M to $2,628M — FY2022-FY2023 · publ. January 2024 · source ↗
  7. Moat Explorer calcRevenue rose 51.7% in 2024 and 51% in 2025, and in 2025 the filing attributes the increase to a 31% rise in processor units and a 15% rise in average selling price.
    Moat Explorer calculation from AMD's Forms 10-K FY2023 and FY2025 and the Q2 2026 10-Q: segment shares of revenue, operating margins and growth rates — 2022 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  8. ReportedRevenue rose 51.7% in 2024 and 51% in 2025, and in 2025 the filing attributes the increase to a 31% rise in processor units and a 15% rise in average selling price.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2025 - segment note and MD&A: revenue 2023-2025 Data Center $6,496M/$12,579M/$16,635M, Client $4,651M/$7,054M/$10,640M, Gaming $6,212M/$2,595M/$3,910M, Embedded $5,321M/$3,557M/$3,454M of $22,680M/$25,785M/$34,639M; operating income Data Center $1,267M/$3,482M/$3,603M, Client and Gaming $925M/$1,187M/$2,855M, Embedded $2,628M/$1,421M/$1,243M, All Other ($4,419M)/($4,190M)/($4,007M) incl. $2.3bn amortization in 2025; Client and Gaming combined into one reportable segment from Q1 2025; 2025 drivers: Data Center +32% on EPYC and Instinct demand, ~$440M MI308 charges; Client +51% on 31% more units and a 15% higher ASP; Gaming +51% on semi-custom and Radeon; Embedded -3% as certain end market demand remained mixed; segment product descriptions — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe combined segment earned $2,855 million in 2025, against $1,187 million in 2024 and $925 million in 2023.
    AMD Form 10-K FY2025 - segment note and MD&A: revenue 2023-2025 Data Center $6,496M/$12,579M/$16,635M, Client $4,651M/$7,054M/$10,640M, Gaming $6,212M/$2,595M/$3,910M, Embedded $5,321M/$3,557M/$3,454M of $22,680M/$25,785M/$34,639M; operating income Data Center $1,267M/$3,482M/$3,603M, Client and Gaming $925M/$1,187M/$2,855M, Embedded $2,628M/$1,421M/$1,243M, All Other ($4,419M)/($4,190M)/($4,007M) incl. $2.3bn amortization in 2025; Client and Gaming combined into one reportable segment from Q1 2025; 2025 drivers: Data Center +32% on EPYC and Instinct demand, ~$440M MI308 charges; Client +51% on 31% more units and a 15% higher ASP; Gaming +51% on semi-custom and Radeon; Embedded -3% as certain end market demand remained mixed; segment product descriptions — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedClient revenue rose 24% to $5.9 billion, on a 29% increase in unit shipments partly offset by a 3% lower average price; in the June quarter units rose 34% and the average price fell 6%.
    AMD Form 10-Q, quarter to 27 June 2026 - Data Center $6.7bn (+107%), operating income $2.1bn against a $155M loss, six months $12.5bn (+81%); Client $3.1bn (+23%, units +34%, ASP -6%), six months $5.9bn (+24%, units +29%, ASP -3%), driven by Ryzen mobile; Gaming $779M, six months -15% on lower semi-custom revenue partly offset by Radeon; Client and Gaming operating income $582M against $767M; Embedded $977M (+19%), six months $1.9bn (+12%), operating income $386M against $275M, demand strengthened across end markets; total revenue $11,536M — Q2 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedThe unit growth came mainly from Ryzen mobile processors.
    AMD Form 10-Q, quarter to 27 June 2026 - Data Center $6.7bn (+107%), operating income $2.1bn against a $155M loss, six months $12.5bn (+81%); Client $3.1bn (+23%, units +34%, ASP -6%), six months $5.9bn (+24%, units +29%, ASP -3%), driven by Ryzen mobile; Gaming $779M, six months -15% on lower semi-custom revenue partly offset by Radeon; Client and Gaming operating income $582M against $767M; Embedded $977M (+19%), six months $1.9bn (+12%), operating income $386M against $275M, demand strengthened across end markets; total revenue $11,536M — Q2 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  12. Third-party estimateAMD passed 30% of x86 client shipments for the first time, at 30.3%.
    Mercury Research CPU market share, Q2 2026 (via WinFuture) - client x86 AMD 30.3%, server 34.5% (+7.3 points) — Q2 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026