PC Shipments Declined 19.5 Percent in 3Q22

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 68 million units in the third quarter of 2022, a 19.5% decrease from the third quarter of 2021, according to preliminary results by Gartner. This is 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.

“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.“

The top three vendors in the worldwide PC market remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2022, with Lenovo maintaining the No. 1 spot in shipments with 25.2% market share, ahead of HP (18.7% share), and Dell (17.7% share).  All three of them marked a decline in shipments compared with the same period last year: Lenovo declined 15.3%, HP lost 27.9%, and Dell was at a 21.1% decline compared with 3Q21.

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.

HP experienced a challenging quarter with a sharp decline in overall global shipments. HP recorded growth in select regions in the desktop market, but overall laptop shipments suffered declines. Dell narrowed its market share difference from HP, recording growth in the desktop market in all regions except in the Asia Pacific. However, Dell’s laptop shipments declined in all regions except for Japan.

The U.S. PC market declined 17.3% in the third quarter of 2022, the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment decline. Slowed laptop sales drove the overall U.S. market down, but the desktop market showed modest growth driven by pent-up demand among businesses as well as public sector purchases. The EMEA PC market decreased 26.4% year-over-year in the third quarter, reaching 17 million units - the steepest decline among all regions. This is the third negative quarter for the EMEA PC market following a boom at the start of the pandemic. Excluding Japan, the Asia Pacific market declined 16.6%, largely due to slowed shipments in China.