Global PC shipments fell by 4% in Q2 2026, ending a continuous growth streak that lasted over 1 year. The market managed to move 65,000,000 units according to preliminary data from Counterpoint Research. While businesses are still buying new computers to upgrade their software, soaring component costs are forcing manufacturers to raise retail prices.
The primary culprit behind this market dip is the skyrocketing cost of memory chips. A massive surge in DRAM prices has bloated the bill of material costs for computer builders. This left brand owners with very few choices. They ended up passing those extra expenses directly down to consumers, dropping cheap entry level setups, or pushing customers toward premium computers where profit margins are higher.
Lenovo held onto its top spot with 25.6% of the global market, shipping 16,600,000 computers. Even though its shipments slipped by 2% compared to last year, the company used its massive purchasing scale to protect itself from the worst of the silicon shortage. HP did not fare as well, suffering an 8% drop in shipments. Their catalog relies heavily on cheap computers for everyday buyers and mid range business setups, which are the exact areas where price increases hurt the most. Dell also took a hit with a 6% decline, but its focus on corporate contracts helped it secure steady IT budgets.
Apple and ASUS managed to run against the downward trend. Apple enjoyed a massive 13% spike in shipments, fueled by the launch of their new Neo computer. ASUS posted a 4% increase by moving quickly to embrace new processor architectures. The brand succeeded in capturing early adopter attention by backing various AI PC designs, selling everything from their basic Vivobook line to their high end ProArt devices. Together, the top 5 brands controlled nearly 78% of the global landscape, leaving smaller players to fight over the remaining market share.
The current pricing pressure is not going away quickly. Senior Analyst Minsoo Kang from Counterpoint Research pointed out that while memory costs stabilized recently, the high expense is still a heavy load for computer brands. He expects cheaper consumer computers to face a big drop in demand, while business upgrades will hold steady due to the end of official support for older Windows systems. Apple already raised its retail prices, and industry experts expect other manufacturers to do the same before the end of the year.
Associate Director David Naranjo described the ongoing memory shortage as a permanent shift in how the industry operates. He explained that as components get more expensive, the market is naturally shifting toward premium AI computers because buyers are more willing to pay extra for better local performance. Business demand is expected to remain steady, but regular consumers will likely hold back until prices drop. Because of this, the rest of 2026 will focus on building value rather than just chasing high shipment numbers.
