The AI boom turned GPUs (graphics processing units) into the hottest product in tech over the last few years, relegating the CPUs (central processing units) to also-ran status.

But the CPU is staging a major comeback, and it’s sending shares of Intel and AMD soaring.

A few months back, I wrote about how CPUs were back en vogue, after Meta inked deals with Nvidia and AMD for their respective chips, and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company was seeing increasing demand for its processors.

Just how much customers are angling to get their hands on CPUs became much clearer with Intel and AMD’s latest earnings results.

Last week, Intel reported better-than-anticipated first quarter results and provided a strong outlook for the second quarter. What’s more, the company’s data center revenue came in at $5.1 billion, well ahead of Wall Street’s projected $4.4 billion.

During Intel’s earnings call, Tan noted that despite the beat on data center sales, the company said demand is still outpacing supply and that it will continue to increase availability each quarter.

AMD painted a similarly rosy picture during its earnings on Tuesday, with CEO Lisa Su saying she’s increased her expectations for CPU growth from 18% annually over the next three to five years to 35% annually.

In the second quarter alone, Su said AMD expects to see 70% year-over-year CPU revenue growth, with demand continuing through the second half of 2026 and into 2027.

Why the seemingly sudden renewed interest in CPUs? You can thank agentic AI for that. AI agents perform semi-autonomous or fully autonomous tasks on behalf of users. That includes things like drafting documents, preparing PowerPoint presentations, and sorting files, all of which require CPUs.

With more AI agents coming online, AI labs need an increasing number of CPUs to keep up with demand.

And if Intel and AMD are right, that demand won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

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