PC Market Sees Three Consecutive Quarters of Year-On-Year Growth
According to preliminary data from Gartner, Inc., worldwide PC shipments totaled 60.6 million units in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 1.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023. This marks the third successive quarter of year-on-year growth for the PC market.
Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner, highlighted, “The modest year-on-year growth and stable sequential growth indicate that the market is progressing favorably toward recovery.” Sequentially, PC inventory showed a 7.8% increase from Q1 2024 to Q2 2024, bringing levels back to an average state. Supply chain stability has been pivotal, positioning the market for continued expansion with major platform updates anticipated.
The top six vendor rankings remained unchanged from Q2 2023, with all vendors except Dell reporting year-over-year shipment growth (see Table 1).
Table 1. Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q24 (Thousands of Units)
Company 2Q24 Shipments 2Q24 Market Share (%) 2Q23 Shipments 2Q23 Market Share (%) 2Q24-2Q23 Growth (%)
Lenovo 14,822 24.4 14,327 24.1 3.5
HP Inc. 13,691 22.6 13,461 22.6 1.7
Dell 10,140 16.7 10,394 17.5 -2.4
Apple 5,455 9.0 4,823 8.1 13.1
Acer 4,434 7.3 3,989 6.7 11.2
ASUS 4,329 7.1 3,874 6.5 11.7
Others 7,822 12.9 8,689 14.6 -10.0
Total 60,694 100.0 59,559 100.0 1.9
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs equipped with Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS. Estimates are preliminary and subject to change. Based on shipments to channels. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (July 2024)
Regional Insights
In the U.S., PC shipments exceeded 18 million units, achieving a 3.4% year-over-year increase, driven by robust sales in government, education, and slowly increasing business demand. HP led with a 27% market share, followed by Dell at 25.2% (see Table 2).
Table 2. Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q24 (Thousands of Units)
Company 2Q24 Shipments 2Q24 Market Share (%) 2Q23 Shipments 2Q23 Market Share (%) 2Q24-2Q23 Growth (%)
HP Inc. 5,012 27.0 4,842 27.0 3.5
Dell 4,682 25.2 4,847 27.0 -3.4
Lenovo 3,277 17.7 3,042 17.0 7.7
Apple 2,374 12.8 2,181 12.2 8.9
Acer 1,278 6.9 1,067 5.9 19.8
ASUS 523 2.8 523 2.9 -0.1
Others 1,404 7.6 1,432 8.0 -2.0
Total 18,550 100.0 17,934 100.0 3.4
Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs equipped with Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS. Estimates are preliminary and subject to change. Based on shipments to channels. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (July 2024)
The EMEA market registered a 4.8% year-over-year increase, indicating stabilization from previous declines with modest quarter-over-quarter growth of 0.4%. Conversely, the Asia/Pacific market declined 2.2% year-over-year, attributed to weaknesses in China but offset by growth in mature and emerging Asia/Pacific regions.
AI PC Initiative
The PC industry has focused on promoting AI PCs, integrating Neural Processing Units (NPUs) in devices. The introduction of the first Arm-based Windows AI PC in Q2 2024 is anticipated to intensify market competition, potentially broadening opportunities for Arm processors on Windows devices.
“Demand for AI PCs has been gradual, as the product is in early stages, and the tangible benefits for consumers are still evolving,” added Kitagawa.