PC Market Recorded Another Quarter of Positive Growth

Global PC shipments grew 2.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 65.6 million units, according to preliminary results from IDC. Despite deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and memory shortage issues, the PC market recorded another quarter of positive growth. This growth was mostly fueled by the anticipation of rising component prices, Windows 10 migration, and new product introductions.

“As expected, 2026 will be characterized by market share shifts,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, research vice-president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. “The strength of every PC vendor’s supply chain and ability to access core components, such as memory, will be tested. IDC believes that demand will be met by PC vendors who have the best secured access to memory and with a device portfolio capable of addressing all price tiers of the market.”

While recording positive growth in this first quarter of 2026, the component shortages and deteriorating economic conditions have started to impact the PC market, as illustrated by a sharp decline in growth trends in every region. IDC believes that the remainder of the year will see further decline in PC shipments as system prices continue to rise.

“The Middle East conflict has injected a fresh layer of volatility into a fragile computing devices market, straining global logistics through a double-edged sword of rising energy costs and freight spikes,” said Isaac Ngatia, senior research analyst, IDC Devices Research. “On one hand, sea corridors continue to face ongoing disruption, especially those connecting Asia and EMEA; on the other, pivoting to air freight has become more expensive. Ultimately, these premiums are trickling down the value chain, intensifying the pricing pressure of PCs on the end-users.”

There were no changes among the top five companies in PC shipments compared with the same period last year. Lenovo remained at the top of the list of shipments in 1Q26 with 8.6% growth and a 25.2% market share. Even though it remained second, HP recorded a 4.9% drop YoY, holding 18.5% of the market in 1Q26. Dell remained third with 15.7% share and a 7.7% YoY growth. Apple was fourth, increasing its share to 9.5% as Asus remained at the fifth spot with a 7.2% share and the strongest YoY growth (17.1%) among the top five.