Worldwide PC shipments fell 20.1% during the third quarter, dropping to 62.7 million units as early inventory buying emptied retail demand. IDC Research reported the decline alongside a 9.1% sequential drop from the second quarter, disrupting standard seasonal growth patterns. Rising memory costs and supply limits continue to keep retail prices high across all major vendors.
The market slump stems from aggressive buying earlier in the year. Hardware makers and retail channels bought inventory ahead of anticipated price increases, leaving warehouses overstocked and third quarter order volumes depleted. Jitesh Ubrani, research director at IDC, explained the current market friction:
Channels are now worried about carrying too much inventory into a market where high prices are suppressing demand. That could translate into promotions and some short term relief for consumers, but we do not expect pricing anywhere near what it was a year ago. Prices will remain elevated.
Market leaders experienced sharp shipment reductions. Lenovo maintained the top position with 14.9 million shipments and a 23.8% market share, despite a 22.6% shipment decline. HP Inc followed with 10.3 million units and a 16.5% market share, reflecting a 30.9% drop. Dell Technologies shipped 7.6 million units for a 12.1% market share, recording a 25% decrease. Apple shipped 5.9 million computers for a 9.5% market share after an 11.3% drop, while ASUS shipped 5.5 million units, capturing 8.7% of the market with an 8.6% decline.
Component supply bottlenecks tied to enterprise AI infrastructure continue to inflate memory pricing. Retailers may introduce brief discounts to clear existing stock, but overall hardware costs remain significantly higher than previous cycles. Weakening macroeconomic conditions present additional risks, threatening to depress consumer and enterprise hardware spending heading into next year.
