According to IDC, Q3 2018 traditional PC (desktop, notebook and workstation) shipments total 67.4 million units-- a -0.9% Y-o-Y decline, down from the growth of Q2 2018 but still an improvement over previous analyst forecasts of a -3% Y-o-Y drop.
The PC market has been trending towards stabilisation since 2017, and even reached actual growth in Q2 2018. Demand from mature regions remains key to the market, but many emerging markets have to deal with unfavourable currency headwinds, as well as other politico-economic factors. In addition, Q3 2018 had processor shortages, even if most top OEMs managed to fulfill a "sizable" portion of demand and outperform the market.
Driving Q3 2018 are pockets of strong demand, as well as an increase in inventory ahead of further supply issues and expected price hikes. The EMEA market shows "flattish" results, with ongoing mobility demand leading to slightly stronger notebook performance compared to desktops. The aforementioned component shortages do dampen overall growth, despite strong commercial demand.
"Q3 2018 came in better than expected," IDC remarks. "But the outlook remains uncertain as we head into the holiday season, when volume will be boosted by many consumer-oriented promotions in entry-level SKUs. AMD supply could help with processor demand somewhat, but it will also take time for OEMs to spec in more models."
Lenovo lead the Q3 2018 vendor rankings, in good part thanks to the addition of Fujitsu volume following the Q2 2018 joint venture. The result is 24% global market share through shipments reaching 16.2m units, a 5.8% Y-o-Y increase. HP follows with 0.3% Y-o-Y growth on shipments reaching 15.4m units. Dell ties with Lenovo in terms of growth at 5.8% Y-o-Y, and shows strong desktop volume and "great" EMEA performance.
Acer makes it to 4th place through a focus on education and gaming, bringing about 8.5% Y-o-Y growth. The company offers a comprehensive Chrome OS portfolio, and sees "significant" uptake for gaming laptops. Finishing the top 5 is Apple, with a -11% Y-o-Y decline.
