Global PC shipments fell 20.1% in the third quarter of 2026

Global personal computer shipments in the third quarter of 2026 fell 20.1% year over year, to 62.7 million units, according to preliminary IDC data. The decline was the second in a row and markedly deeper than the 3.8% in the second quarter. A year earlier, 78.5 million machines were shipped in the same period.

Shipments fell 9.1% from the previous quarter. The usual seasonal uptick did not materialize: the third quarter is traditionally larger than the second, but this time it came in weaker. The channel was selling off a large volume of equipment brought in earlier.

Stockpiling and rising memory prices

The cause is not only sluggish demand. Early in the year, vendors and channels stocked up, fearing memory price increases driven by the construction of AI data centers. Supply constraints, high prices and logistics disruptions added to that. The statistics cover desktop and portable computers and workstations, excluding tablets and x86 servers.

IDC explains: channels are afraid to bring too much inventory to a market where high prices suppress demand. This may lead to promotions and short-term relief for buyers, but prices are unlikely to return to last year's level.

Who lost the most

The largest vendors fell more than the market. Lenovo lost 22.6%, HP 30.9%, Dell 25.0%. Lenovo remains the leader with a 23.8% share, while HP Inc. has 16.5%. Together the three companies gave up 4.2 percentage points of market share. At Apple, shipments declined 11.3%, but its share rose from 8.5% to 9.5%, because competitors fell faster. At ASUS, the decline was 8.6%.

The forecast is cautious. Economic conditions have worsened since last quarter, and the weak backdrop could weaken demand further, while the outlook through the end of 2026 and for 2027 may get worse. Prices, according to IDC's estimate, will remain noticeably higher than last year's.

Image: Gustavb CC BY 2.5 · License

Translation editors: Соловьев В., Пеков А.