PC Sales Continue to Decline Despite Shipment Growth at HP and Dell

Gartner’s latest report of worldwide PC shipments shows that the steady decline in PC sales that started nearly three years ago continued in the 2017 second quarter. According to Gartner, PC shipments declined 4.3 percent year over year. Some of the industry’s most prominent companies, including Apple and Acer, saw their sales tumble. But it wasn’t all bad. Some other PC titans, including HP and Dell, saw their shipments grow year over year. And, much to the benefit of Google, Chromebooks continue to be popular among consumers and enterprise users. Read on to learn more about the state of the PC market in the second quarter, based on data collected by research firm Gartner:

For the 11^th straight quarter, worldwide PC shipments were down in the second quarter of 2017. Total shipments for the period hit 61.1 million, a 4.3 percent decline compared to the same period in 2016. PC makers had to boost prices during the quarter due to higher component costs, prompting consumers to think twice about upgrading their computers.

Despite the market’s troubles, HP’s shipments were up 3.3 percent year over year during the second quarter. HP shipped 12.7 million PC units, earning an industry-leading 20.8 percent market share during the period.

Lenovo, which previously held the top spot among the world’s PC vendors, landed in second place for the second quarter. The company’s shipments were down 8.4 percent to 12.2 million, giving it 19.9 percent market share, according to Gartner.

Dell was the only other vendor to boost PC shipments in the second quarter. According to Gartner, Dell shipped 9.6 million PC units, a 1.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016. Dell’s market share topped 15.6 percent last quarter.

Apple’s market share and shipments were nearly static during the second quarter. The company’s total shipments of Macintosh models hit 4.23 million, a 0.4 percent decline compared to the 4.25 million it shipped in the second quarter of 2016. Apple’s market share stood at 6.9 percent last quarter.

Asus, which years ago was doing well in the netbook market, continues to see its PC business falter. The company shipped just 4 million PCs during the second quarter, a 10.3 percent decline compared to the prior year. The company secured 6.6 percent market share during the period.

Acer suffered the biggest drop of any company in the Gartner study, with a 12.5 percent year-over-year decline. Acer’s shipments fell to 3.9 million during the second quarter of 2017 from 4.4 million last year. Its market share was just 6.3 percent.

Gartner analyzed the performance of the both the worldwide and U.S. PC markets. It found 14 million PCs were shipped in the U.S. in the second quarter, a 5.7 percent decline compared to the same period in 2016. Gartner noted the U.S. market is suffering from “weak consumer PC demand.”

HP was the top vendor in the U.S. last quarter, with 4.3 million shipments and 30.5 percent market share. It was followed by Dell, which had 3.9 million shipments and 27.7 percent share. Apple’s U.S. shipments fell sharply by 9.6 percent year over year to 1.6 million, while Asus’ U.S. shipments slipped nearly 41 percent on the year.

Despite broader market troubles in the PC space, Chromebooks are doing well. According to Gartner, Chromebook shipments are “growing much faster than the overall PC market.” Sales of cloud-connected Chromebooks are experiencing double-digit growth while the traditional PC business is on the downswing, it noted.