By Alex Sirois
Publication Date: 2026-11-04 17:45:00
Intel just posted its strongest data center growth in 15 years, and Broadcom is pulling AI budgets toward custom chips that undercut GPU pricing. AMD is fighting a two-front war it rarely gets credit for.
Most investors see AMD (NASDAQ:AMD | AMD Price Prediction) as a GPU challenger. Two rivals just showed that its competition runs wider than that. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) reported on October 29, 2026 that Xeon server demand rose sharply. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) posted custom AI chip revenue that more than tripled. Intel goes after AMD’s EPYC server CPUs. Broadcom goes after the AI compute budget.
Xeon Supply Lifts Intel While Custom Chips Lift Broadcom
Intel’s Data Center and AI revenue hit $7.32B, up 78%. That was its strongest data center growth in 15 years, and it is server share AMD wants. Management named its rival on the call: “In terms of Coral Rapids, we will be competitive to AMD.” PCs remain the weak spot. Client revenue slipped 5% to $8.10B, and Intel expects 2026 PC units to fall about 12%. AMD’s Ryzen line faces that same headwind.
Broadcom’s AI semiconductor revenue reached $16.70B, up 221%, and custom XPUs made up 73% of AI revenue. Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta all use Broadcom-built accelerators. Management’s pitch: “In many…
