Q2 PC Shipment Data Shows Signs of Stabilization in PC Market

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The decline in global personal computer (PC) shipments continues for the seventh consecutive quarter, according to the latest data compiled by Gartner. Per the preliminary data released by the market research firm, PC shipments in the April-June 2023 quarter plunged 16.6% year over year to 59.7 million units.

However, the second-quarter PC shipment data shows a strong improvement from the first quarter when PC vendors had shipped 55.2 million units. The research firm sees the sequential improvement in PC shipments as an initial sign of stabilization in the PC market.

Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner, stated that “The rate of decline in the PC market has slowed, indicating that shipment volumes may have reached their lowest point.” She further added, “There has been progress in reducing PC inventory after more than a year of issues, supported by a gradual increase in business PC demand. Gartner expects that PC inventory will normalize by the end of 2023, and PC demand will return to growth starting in 2024.”

In 2020 and 2021, PC manufacturers had benefited from the increased demand amid the pandemic-induced remote-working and online-learning wave. The pandemic necessitated using PC systems for remote work, web-based learning, video conferencing, video gaming, social media, consumer entertainment and streaming or online shopping.

However, the back-to-back seven quarters of declining PC shipments depict an end to the industry’s demand boom. We believe that consumers have become more cautious about their spending due to inflationary pressure, rising interest rates and fears of a possible recession. Furthermore, enterprises are delaying their large IT spending amid macroeconomic challenges.

Per the data compiled by Gartner, all top vendors registered a decline in their PC shipments in the second quarter. Dell Technologies (DELL - Free Report) registered the highest fall of 21.8% to 10.4 million units, followed by Acer 21.1% to 4 million PCs.

PC volumes of Lenovo (LNVGY - Free Report) fell 20.8% to 14.3 million units, while ASUS registered a decrease of 17.3% to 3.9 million units. HP Inc. (HPQ - Free Report) and Apple (AAPL - Free Report) both registered a modest decline in their PC shipments. While HP’s PC shipments fell 0.9% to 13.5 million units, Apple’s shipments dropped 0.3% to 5.3 million PCs.

Per Gartner, Lenovo continues to hold the top spot on the vendor list, followed by HP and Dell with a market share of 24%, 22.5% and 17.4%, respectively. Apple, Acer and ASUS ended the April-June quarter with a market share of 8.9%, 6.7% and 6.5%, respectively.

Among the leading vendors, Dell carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Meanwhile, Apple and HP Inc. each have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Lenovo carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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