Global PC shipments fall 9% in quarter seen as bottom for market

WORLDWIDE personal computer shipments declined 9 per cent in the third quarter, hitting what Gartner analysts expect will be the low point in a two-year market slump.

Apple had the steepest drop among the major PC makers, with shipments falling 24 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier. HP’s units rose 6.4 per cent, the lone vendor to make gains during the July-September period, Gartner said on Monday (Oct 9). Lenovo Group maintained its top position, with 25 per cent of the global market. Total shipments hit 64.3 million units, compared with 70.6 million in the period a year earlier.

After falling for eight consecutive quarters, “there is evidence that the PC market’s decline has finally bottomed out”, said Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner analyst. Corporate customers may be reaching their next purchasing cycle, spurred by Microsoft’s Windows 11 software upgrades, and consumers may be ready to replace PCs bought earlier in the pandemic, she said.

“The good news for PC vendors is that the worst could be over by the end of 2023,” Kitagawa said. BLOOMBERG