RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Lenovo is widening its lead as the world’s top sellers of personal computers even as the industry shows a resurgence even as a global trade war could impact future sales.
According to two new industry reports, Lenovo’s global market share has climbed to 25 percent after a strong second quarter in which shipments surged 16 percent or more. Its performance came as the entire business for the first time in three quarters, according to research firm Gartner. Refreshing of software and fear of possible trade restrictions were among the drivers for sales, the reports noted.
The market share for Lenovo surged 3 percentage points.
The tech giant, which operates global headquarters in Morrisville and Beijing, shipped more than 16 million computers in the April-June quarter, according to research firm IDC.
Garnter reported a slightly lower number at 15.8 million.
IDC breaks down PC market share for Q2 2019.
The numbers represent year-over-year growth of 18.2 percent and 15.9 percent respectively, widening Lenovo’s lead over No. 2 HP and No. 3 Dell.
Lenovo’s business also surged nearly 3 million computers from the first quarter.
IDC’s quarterly report noted several reasons for Lenovo’s surge.
“The company has won some large commercial bids, such as the ELCOT project in India, which helped drive shipments,” IDC said.
“Beyond that, the fear of additional tariffs led Lenovo (along with others) to ship additional units during the quarter.”
Gartner also said tariffs could be a caveat on the Lenovo surge.
“Lenovo retained the top spot in the second quarter of 2019 with the fastest year-over-year growth and the largest share gain among the top vendors. However, it is possible that its shipments reflected some anticipation of the potential tariffs,” the research firm says.
Overall, however, Lenovo showed broad strength in all markets but one.
“Lenovo experienced double-digit shipment growth in all key regions except Latin America, where the overall PC market declined.”
