An apparatus and method for determining whether to execute an atomic operation locally or remotely. For example, one embodiment of a processor comprises: a decoder to decode an atomic operation on a local core; prediction logic on the local core to estimate a cost associated with execution of the atomic operation on the local core and a cost associated with execution of the atomic operation on a remote core; and the remote core to execute the atomic operation remotely if the prediction logic determines that the cost for execution on the local core is relatively greater than the cost for execution on the remote core; and the local core to execute the atomic operation locally if the prediction logic determines that the cost for local execution on the local core is relatively less than the cost for execution on the remote core.