Yahoo Finance The PC Market Just Posted Its Best Quarter in 6 Years
Like clockwork, market researchers IDC and Gartner have both put out their most recent estimates on the PC market. While each firm's methodologies vary slightly -- for example, IDC includes Chromebooks but Gartner does not -- they both found that the PC market just had its best quarter since 2012. That's not to say that the market is the growth engine it used to be, as it has been stagnating for many years with the rise of mobile computing.
Still, any growth at all is better than contracting.
Image source: Apple.
Best quarter since 2012
Starting with IDC's preliminary estimates, that researcher says the market grew 2.7% in the second quarter, and the overall rankings of vendors didn't really change. HP is still the top dog by unit volumes, according to the report, with China's Lenovo coming in No. 2. Dell, which is preparing to go public (again), came in third, while Apple's unit volumes were essentially flat year over year.
Vendor | Q2 2018 Shipments | Q2 2018 Market Share |
|---|---|---|
HP (NYSE: HPQ) | 14.9 million | 23.9% |
Lenovo | 13.8 million | 22.1% |
Dell | 11.3 million | 18.1% |
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) | 4.3 million | 6.9% |
Acer | 4.2 million | 6.7% |
Others | 13.9 million | 22.3% |
Total | 62.3 million | 100% |
Data source: IDC.
Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup just yesterday, giving it slightly more than your typical spec bump. The professional notebooks are also getting TrueTone displays and a third-generation keyboard. Unfortunately, the new keyboard does not address ongoing reliability issues that have sparked multiple class action lawsuits; it's just quieter. Still, the update should help bolster Mac unit volumes in the third quarter.
At 2.7% growth, this was the best quarter for the PC market since Q1 2012, according to IDC.
A second opinion
Gartner's estimates vary slightly, but the overall takeaways are similar. Under Gartner's figures, Lenovo came out on top by a hair, followed by HP, Dell, and Apple. The market grew by 1.4%, according to Gartner. While encouraging, the researcher says it would be premature to "declare a PC industry recovery just yet."
Vendor | Q2 2018 Shipments | Q2 2018 Market Share |
|---|---|---|
Lenovo | 13.6 million | 21.9% |
HP | 13.6 million | 21.9% |
Dell | 10.5 million | 16.8% |
Apple | 4.4 million | 7.1% |
Acer | 4 million | 6.4% |
Others | 16.1 million | 25.9% |
Total | 62.1 million | 100% |
Data source: Gartner.
Lenovo enjoyed its strongest quarter since early 2015, thanks in part to its recent acquisition of Fujitsu's PC business via a joint venture. Dell was able to grow units by nearly 10% by focusing on its commercial segment. Gartner says it was the PC market's best quarter since Q1 2012.
Either way you slice it, the PC market remains fairly stable, even if its growth days are in the rearview mirror.
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Evan Niu, CFA owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends IT. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
