Global PC shipments total 68.6 million units in Q4 2018, Gartner reports-- a -4.3% Y-o-Y decline. Meanwhile shipments for full-year 2018 are down by -1.3% to "surpass" 259.4m, marking a 7th consecutive year of global PC shipment decline.
“Just when demand in the PC market started seeing positive results, a shortage of CPUs (central processing units) created supply chain issues. After two quarters of growth in 2Q18 and 3Q18, PC shipments declined in the fourth quarter,” the analyst says. “The impact from the CPU shortage affected vendors’ ability to fulfill demand created by business PC upgrades. We expect this demand will be pushed forward into 2019 if CPU availability improves.”
Also affecting the PC market are uncertainties of both political and economic factors in some countries. Even the US sees some uncertainty, despite a strong overall economy, among vulnerable buyer groups such as SMBs. Consumer demand also remains weak throughout the holiday season, marking holiday sales as a non-driver for overall consumer PC demand.
The EMEA market sees Q4 2018 PC shipments drop by -3.8% Y-o-y to 20.9m units. The region does see some positive signs, such as W. European demand for desktop and ultramobiles fueling SMB shipments, as well as Windows 10 renewals from the government segment and demand recovery in Russia and some parts of E. Europe. That said, demand remains not enough to offset declining consumer shipments.
The 3 top vendors-- Lenovo, HP and Dell-- see an increase in global PC market share in Q4 2018, accounting for 63% of shipments in the quarter, up from 59% in Q4 2017. Lenovo beats HP to 1st place in Q4 2018, thanks to the May 2018 joint venture with Lenovo as well as a strong quarter in the US. As a result, the company records 3 consecutive quarters of double-digit Y-o-Y shipment growth, despite a stagnant overall market.
