PC Makers Continue to Struggle on Falling Demand, Except for Apple

pcmag.com:

Tough times persist for the PC market, which saw shipments fall 15% year over year in the third quarter, according(Opens in a new window) to research firm IDC. 

During the July to September period, total PC shipments came in at 74.3 million units, down from 87.3 million units from a year ago. Since then, the economic downturn, inflation and plummeting demand for Chromebooks has sapped momentum for the PC market. 

Lenovo, HP, and Dell all experienced double-digit decreases in shipments. The only bright spot was Apple, which saw shipments in Q3 rise by 40% year over year, due to Apple trying to make up for shipments lost in the previous quarter after its contract factories in China temporarily shut down from COVID-19 lockdown orders. 

IDC added that the PC market is in “retreat,” citing how the average selling prices for PCs have fallen over the last two quarters, after reaching a historic high at $910 in this year’s Q1. 

Canalys, another research firm, posted(Opens in a new window) even more pessimistic shipment estimates for the third quarter period. The company estimates shipments dropped 18% year over year partly because of “bloated” inventories at PC makers and retailers. 

Laptop shipments took the biggest beating, with shipments down 19% year over year at 54.7 million. Meanwhile, desktop shipments dropped by only 11% 

“While the Q3 shipment volume remains comparable to pre-pandemic figures, the rapid deterioration in demand across all segments is a worrying sign not only for vendors, but for stakeholders across the supply chain,” says Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt. Indeed, last week, AMD reported a worse-than-expected decline for PC sales, resulting in a $1.1 billion shortfall in the company’s revenue projections. 

Dutt