RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – PC shipments dropped worldwide in the third quarter – the “steepest” decline ever, according to one report. And the bad news includes No. 1 Lenovo which saw sales in the US fall so far that it fell behind Apple to fourth place in market share.
Lenovo’s decline (23%) and Apple’s rise (the only top 4 manufacturer to increase shipments, says IDC) was reported by research firm Gartner.
Shipments also fell globally for HP and Dell.
So what’s going? Inflation. Global economic concerns.
“Inflation is the biggest concern in the U.S. market, but smaller businesses are showing relative optimism about macroeconomic conditions,” IDC reported. “While laptop demand among large enterprises sharply decreased in the third quarter of 2022, small and midsize businesses did not show as steep of a drop.”
Gartner’s report shows a plunge of 19.5% in shipments worldwide to 68 million. It’s “the steepest market decline since Gartner began tracking the PC market in the mid-1990s and the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline,” Gartner said..
“This quarter’s results could mark a historic slowdown for the PC market,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner. “While supply chain disruptions have finally eased, high inventory has now become a major issue given weak PC demand in both the consumer and business markets. Back to school sales ended with disappointing results despite massive promotions and price drops, due to a lack of need as many consumers had purchased new PCs in the last two years. On the business side, geopolitical and economic uncertainties led to more selective IT spending, and PCs were not at the top of the priority list.”
IDC, meanwhile, reported a higher number of shipments (74 million) but its data reflects similar declines as Gartner.
“Consumer demand has remained muted though promotional activity from the likes of Apple and other players has helped soften the fall and reduce channel inventory by a couple weeks across the board,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “Supply has also reacted to the new lows by reducing orders with Apple being the only exception as their third quarter supply increased to make up for lost orders stemming from the lockdowns in China during the second quarter.”
In a positive note for Lenovo, however, maintains its global share leadership with Gartner saying Lenovo owns 25.2% of the market, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter.
“Lenovo gained market share compared to a year ago, although shipments declined year-over-year. While the company’s overall shipments were down in all regions except Canada, the EMEA desktop market saw growth, fueled by production beginning in Lenovo’s first in-house manufacturing facility in Europe which opened in Hungary in June 2022,” Gartner reported.
The Gartner global breakdown
Table 1. Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q22 (Thousands of Units)
| Company | 3Q22 Shipments | 3Q22 Market Share (%) | 3Q21 Shipments | 3Q21 Market Share (%) | 3Q22-3Q21 Growth (%) |
| Lenovo | 17,114 | 25.2 | 20,215 | 23.9 | -15.3 |
| HP Inc. | 12,706 | 18.7 | 17,622 | 20.9 | -27.9 |
| Dell | 12,021 | 17.7 | 15,233 | 18.0 | -21.1 |
| Apple | 5,795 | 8.5 | 6,866 | 8.1 | -15.6 |
| ASUS | 5,559 | 8.2 | 6,007 | 7.1 | -7.5 |
| Acer | 4,494 | 6.6 | 6,036 | 7.1 | -25.6 |
| Others | 10,306 | 15.2 | 12,468 | 14.8 | -17.3 |
| Total | 67,996 | 100.0 | 84,446 | 100.0 | -19.5 |
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (October 2022)
The Gartner US market breakdown
Table 2. Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q22 (Thousands of Units)
| Company | 3Q22 Shipments | 3Q22 Market Share (%) | 3Q21 Shipments | 3Q21 Market Share (%) | 3Q22-3Q21 Growth (%) |
| Dell | 4,687 | 26.8 | 5,621 | 26.6 | -16.6 |
| HP Inc. | 4,051 | 23.2 | 5,284 | 25.0 | -23.3 |
| Apple | 2,798 | 16.0 | 2,969 | 14.1 | -5.8 |
| Lenovo | 2,754 | 15.8 | 3,569 | 16.9 | -22.8 |
| Acer Group | 1,007 | 5.8 | 1,320 | 6.2 | -23.7 |
| Others | 2,179 | 12.5 | 2,367 | 11.2 | -8.0 |
| Total | 17,475 | 100.0 | 21,131 | 100.0 | -17.3 |
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding. Source: Gartner (October 2022)
The IDC breakdown
| Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Traditional PC Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q3 2022 (Preliminary results, shipments are in thousands of units) | |||||
| Company | 3Q22 Shipments | 3Q22 Market Share | 3Q21 Shipments | 3Q21 Market Share | 3Q22/3Q21 Growth |
| 1. Lenovo | 16,880 | 22.7% | 20,129 | 23.1% | -16.1% |
| 2. HP Inc. | 12,706 | 17.1% | 17,603 | 20.2% | -27.8% |
| 3. Dell Technologies | 11,963 | 16.1% | 15,184 | 17.4% | -21.2% |
| 4. Apple | 10,060 | 13.5% | 7,174 | 8.2% | 40.2% |
| 5. ASUS | 5,540 | 7.5% | 6,011 | 6.9% | -7.8% |
| Others | 17,103 | 23.0% | 21,218 | 24.3% | -19.4% |
| Total | 74,252 | 100.0% | 87,319 | 100.0% | -15.0% |
| Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, October 10, 2022 | |||||
Notes:
– Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the company/brand under which they are sold.
– Traditional PCs include Desktops, Notebooks, and Workstations and do not include Tablets or x86 Servers. Detachable Tablets and Slate Tablets are part of the Personal Computing Device Tracker but are not addressed in this press release.
