Method and apparatus for including in a processor, instructions for performing intra-add operations on packed data. In one embodiment, an execution unit is coupled to a storage area. The storeage area has stored therein a first packed data operand and a second packed data operand. The execution unit performs operations on data elements in the first packed data operand and the second packed data operand to generate a plurality of data elements in a packed data result in response to receiving a single instruction. At least two of the plurality of data elements in a packed data result store the result of an intra-add operation using the first packed data operand and the second packed data operand.