Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Declined 3.6 Percent in Third Quarter of 2017

SINGAPORE, October 11, 2017 — Worldwide PC shipments totaled 67 million units in the
third quarter of 2017, a 3.6 percent decline from the third quarter of 2016,
according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. This is the 12th consecutive
quarter of declining PC shipments.

“While there were signs of stabilization in the PC industry
in key regions, including EMEA, Japan and Latin America, the relatively stable
results were offset by the U.S. market, which saw a 10 percent year-over-year
decline in part because of a very weak back-to-school sales season,”
said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner.
“Business PC demand, led by Windows 10 upgrades, continued to drive PC
shipments across all regions, but its refresh schedule varies by region. The
countries with stable economies, such as the U.S., have created a positive
sentiment among businesses, especially for small and midsized businesses
(SMBs), which are more vulnerable to external events, such as economic or political.”

There are ongoing component shortages, with DRAM shortages
getting particularly worse during the third quarter of the year compared with
the first half of 2017. “The component price hike impacted the consumer PC
market as most vendors generally pass the price hike on to consumers, rather
than absorbing the cost themselves,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “We expect
the DRAM shortage to continue to the end of 2018, but it will not be reflected
in the final PC prices immediately.”

In the third quarter of 2017, HP Inc. and Lenovo were in a
virtual tie for the top spot in the PC market based on shipments (see Table 1).
However, HP Inc. is in an upward trend, as it has experienced five consecutive
quarter of global PC growth, while Lenovo is in a downward trend with declining
shipments in eight of the last 10 quarters.

Notes: Data includes
desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft
Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a
preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics
are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals
shown due to rounding.

Source: Gartner
(October 2017)

HP Inc. experienced growth in all key regions, except the U.S.
market. The company experienced double-digit growth in Latin America, while in
Asia/Pacific HP Inc. secured positive growth for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Lenovo experienced its steepest year-over-year decline of PC shipments in the
U.S. since it acquired the IBM PC business division in 2005. Lenovo continues
to face the dilemma of market share gains versus profitability. It appears the
company is putting more emphasis on profitability than share gain. Dell’s
worldwide PC shipments were slightly down compared with a year ago, as it
registered its first year-over-year shipment decline since the first quarter of
2016.

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 14.7 million units in the
third quarter of 2017, a 10.3 percent decline from the third quarter of 2016
(see Table 2). It was the fourth consecutive quarter of declining PC shipments.

“Weak back-to-school sales were further evidence that
traditional consumer PC demand drivers for PCs are no longer effective,”
Ms. Kitagawa said. “Business PC demand is stable in the U.S., but demand
could slow down among SMBs due to PC price increases due to component
shortages.”

Notes: Data includes
desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft
Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a
preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics
are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals
shown due to rounding.

Source: Gartner
(October 2017)

PC shipments in EMEA
totaled 19 million units in the third quarter of 2017, a 1.1 percent decline
year over year. The contraction in the Western European PC market appears to
have slowed down, with the potential for stability in the fourth quarter of
2017. Eastern Europe is experiencing flat to small unit declines as demand is
not improving, and there is no obvious impact yet from the Windows 10 migration
in the business segment.

In Asia/Pacific, PC
shipments reached 24 million units in the third quarter of 2017, down 2.1
percent from the same period last year. While consumer demand remained
lackluster, PC demand in the business segment remained steady, especially for
notebooks. In China, the PC market is estimated to have declined by 5 percent
in the third quarter of 2017, with more stability in the business market,
particularly in large enterprises, than in the consumer space.

These results are
preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC
Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a
comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product
planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of
key issues and their future implications around the globe.

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:
IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company. The company helps
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