Global PC shipments plunge 20% in third quarter

Global personal computer (PC) shipments tumbled 20.1 per cent year-on-year to 62.7 million units in the third quarter of 2026, defying the customary seasonal upswing as advance inventory stocking, escalating component prices and mounting production costs weighed heavily on the market, according to preliminary data from the research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

The global market recorded 62.7 million shipments between July and September, compared with 78.5 million in the same period last year. Shipments had already contracted by 3.8 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, and the third quarter brought a further 9.1 per cent decline from the preceding three months. This contraction ran counter to the typical pattern, whereby demand generally strengthens ahead of the new academic year and the festive season. Analysts attribute the slump partly to a “pull-in hangover”, a market correction that follows advance purchases made in anticipation of future price rises. Early in the year, manufacturers and retailers placed substantial orders for laptops and desktops, expecting components, notably memory and storage devices linked to artificial intelligence technology, to become costlier. Consequently, retailers are now saddled with excess unsold inventory, which discourages fresh orders until existing stocks are cleared and curbs factory shipments.

Jitesh Ubrani, IDC’s research director for consumer devices, said the effects of early-year stockpiling were now becoming apparent, disrupting the market’s normal sales cycle. Meanwhile, higher component costs are inflating PC production expenses and threatening to make new computers more expensive, which could prompt consumers to defer purchases and weaken demand still further. Moreover, Mr Ubrani cautioned that, with macroeconomic conditions deteriorating, the outlook for the coming quarters risks worsening before it improves.

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The downturn has affected nearly all major manufacturers, albeit to differing degrees. IDC data show that HP’s shipments plunged 30.9 per cent year-on-year, Dell’s fell 25 per cent and those of market leader Lenovo dropped 22.6 per cent. By contrast, Apple and Asus fared comparatively better, with shipments declining 11.3 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively, a modest contraction that suggests greater resilience than several of their larger rivals, notwithstanding the broader slump. 

(Source: India Today)