Global PC shipments in Q4 2018 reached 68.6 million units.
Insufficient CPU supply and economic uncertainty are factors.
Business PCs Grow with Windows 10 Upgrades
On the 11th, Gartner announced the preliminary results of its survey on global personal computer (PC) shipments in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Global PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled 68.6 million units, a 4.3% decrease year-over-year. Total PC shipments in 2018 exceeded 259.4 million units, a 1.3% decrease compared to 2017.

Gartner analysts said there were optimistic signs in 2018, but two key trends were impacting the industry.

“The CPU shortage created supply problems just as PC market demand was starting to show positive results,” said Mikako Kitagawa, senior research analyst at Gartner. “After growing in the second and third quarters of 2018, PC shipments declined in the fourth quarter.”

“The impact of the CPU shortage has impacted companies’ ability to meet demand driven by business PC upgrades,” he continued. “If the CPU supply problem improves, this demand will expand into 2019.”

“In some countries, PC demand has slowed due to political and economic uncertainty,” Kitagawa said. “Even in the U.S., which has maintained an overall strong economy, there has been uncertainty among vulnerable buyer segments such as small and medium-sized businesses.”

In particular, he emphasized that “consumer demand was weak during the last holiday season, and now year-end specials are no longer the main factor driving consumer PC demand.”
The top three vendors, Lenovo, HP, and Dell, increased their share of the global PC market in the fourth quarter of 2018, with PC shipments increasing to 63% from 59% in the same period last year.

Lenovo in 2018 Lenovo overtook HP to take the top spot in the global PC market in the fourth quarter. A key factor in Lenovo's market share gains was the establishment of a joint venture with Fujitsu in May 2018. Lenovo also delivered strong quarterly results in the US, achieving double-digit year-over-year shipment growth for the third consecutive quarter despite the overall market downturn.

HP struggled in the fourth quarter of 2018. After four consecutive quarters of growth, HP's shipments declined in the fourth quarter, with shipments declining in most major regions except Asia Pacific and Japan. Dell saw positive growth, with strong performance in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan, but declines in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, US PC shipments reached 14.2 million units, a 4.5% increase year-over-year. In the US PC market, four of the top six vendors experienced shipment declines in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Lenovo's growth far exceeded the U.S. average, but Dell's shipments increased slightly year over year. The overall decline in the U.S. market was due to slowing demand from small businesses and consumers, despite year-end specials.

“The fourth quarter in the U.S. is typically a special buying season for small offices (SOHOs) and small businesses looking to work through their remaining budgets before the end of the tax year,” Kitagawa said. “Early indicators suggest that small office and small business buyers are holding off on new PC purchases due to uncertainty surrounding political and economic conditions.”
PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled 20.9 million units, a 3.8% year-over-year decline.

There were positive signs in Western Europe, with demand for desktops and ultramobiles boosting shipments to small and medium-sized businesses, while government revenue also grew, driven by additional Windows 10 updates.

Demand continues to recover in some Eastern European regions, including Russia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. However, demand has not been sufficient to offset the decline in consumer shipments.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, Asia-Pacific PC market shipments totaled 24.2 million units, a 4.6% decrease year-over-year.

Uncertainty over US-China trade relations and stock market volatility have led to cautious demand, particularly among consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the fourth quarter of 2018, PC shipments in China declined 2.5% year-over-year, but annual shipments increased 5.6 times year-over-year.


Global PC shipments decline for 7 consecutive years
Global PC shipments in 2018 totaled 259.4 million units, a 1.3% decrease from 2017.
Global PC shipments have been declining for seven consecutive years, but the decline has been milder than in the past three years.

“Most of the decline in PC shipments in 2018 was due to a slowdown in consumer PC shipments,” Kitagawa said. “Consumer shipments fell from 49% in 2014 to 40% in 2018.”

He continued, “The market stabilization in 2018 was due to the continued growth of business PCs driven by the Windows 10 upgrade.”

These results are preliminary and final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's Worldwide Quarterly PC Statistics program in each region.