Global PC Shipments Fall 9% in Quarter Seen as Bottom for Market

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

(Bloomberg) — Worldwide personal computer shipments declined 9% in the third quarter, hitting what Gartner Inc. analysts expect will be the low point in a two-year market slump.

Apple Inc. had the steepest drop among the major PC makers, with shipments falling 24% from the same quarter a year earlier. HP Inc.’s units rose 6.4%, the lone vendor to make gains during the July-September period, Gartner said Monday in a statement. Lenovo Group Ltd. maintained its top position, with 25% 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 Corp.’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.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.