Intel Prioritizes Data-Center Chips, Could Reduce Consumer CPU Supply in 2026

On January 22, Intel said in its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings that it will prioritize data centers in 2026 and will not produce as many processors for consumers. The company reported that profits from its AI and data-center products rose about 9% for the quarter and 5% for the year, while its consumer PC parts division was down roughly 7% for the quarter and about 3% for the year.

Intel CFO David Zinser told investors the company is shifting capacity to meet “high demand” from data centers: “Obviously, we’re shifting as much as we can over to data centers to meet the high demand, but we can’t completely vacate the client market,” he said. Ars Technica reported Intel is struggling to make and buy enough chips and will focus on acquiring parts for the more profitable AI datacenter business.

The shift is likely to tighten supply of Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake CPUs and push processor prices higher as stock dwindles, the report said, and could also put upward pressure on AMD prices. The broader scramble for parts by AI hyperscalers has already driven up costs for PC RAM and graphics cards, and PC World estimates prebuilt PC prices could rise 15–20%.

Chip suppliers such as Micron are reportedly moving away from consumer RAM sales toward bulk buyers, and the report says the changes could eventually affect console makers.

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