Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Grew 2.3% in 4Q19 and 0.6% for the Year
Announcement posted by Gartner 14 Jan 2020
First Sign of Growth for Worldwide PC Shipments After Seven Consecutive Years of Decline
STAMFORD, Conn., January 13, 2020 — Worldwide PC shipments totaled 70.6 million units in the fourth quarter of 2019, a 2.3% increase from the fourth quarter of 2018, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. For the year, 2019 PC shipments surpassed 261 million units, showing 0.6% growth from 2018.
“The PC market experienced growth for the first time since 2011, driven by vibrant business demand for Windows 10 upgrades, particularly in the U.S., EMEA and Japan,” said Mikako Kitagawa, senior principal analyst at Gartner. “We expect this growth to continue through this year even after Windows 7 support comes to an end this month, as many businesses in emerging regions such as China, Eurasia and the emerging Asia/Pacific have not yet upgraded.”
“Contrasted against the ongoing weakness in consumer PC demand, business PC demand has led to unit growth in five of the last seven quarters,” said Ms. Kitagawa. “The ongoing Intel CPU shortage, which began mid-last year, became a major issue again on PC delivery to enterprise customers by the top three vendors. Without this shortage, shipments would have grown faster than the reported results.”
Despite these chip constraints, the top three vendors increased their combined market share through 2019 to the highest level since Gartner began tracking PC data. Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell accounted for nearly 65% of PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2019, up from just more than 61% in the fourth quarter of 2018 (see Table 1).
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q19 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (January 2020)
Lenovo maintained its No. 1 position in the worldwide PC market and widened its share over HP Inc. With the exception of the Asia/Pacific, Lenovo recorded year-over-year growth in all regions. In the U.S. alone, Lenovo’s desktop PC shipments rose more than 30% compared with a year ago.
HP Inc. experienced its third quarter in a row of year-over-year shipment growth, and kept its top position in the U.S., EMEA and Latin America. However, it is facing aggressive competition from Lenovo and Dell. Dell finished the fourth quarter of 2019 with a record number of shipments, exceeding 12 million units for the first time since Gartner started tracking PC shipments. Dell’s shipments grew year-over-year in all regions at a much higher rate compared with the regional average, due in large part to its particularly strong desktop PC growth.
The U.S. PC market grew 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019 with double-digit growth of desktop PCs for the first time since 2014.
PC shipments in EMEA increased 3.6% year over year to 21 million units, with the fourth quarter of 2019 marking the second consecutive quarter of shipment growth as regional demand improves. In Western Europe, the required Windows 10 upgrade outweighed any uncertainty surrounding Brexit. However, negative consumer confidence in the U.K. translated into the delay of many PC purchases.
The Asia/Pacific PC market totaled 22 million units in the fourth quarter of 2019, a 6.1% decline from the fourth quarter of 2018. This marks the region’s fifth straight quarter of decline. The decline can be attributed to weaker PC spending in China, the country that represents around 60% of the total Asia/Pacific PC market, over political and trade concerns.
Modest PC Market Growth in the Full Year of 2019 After Seven Consecutive Years of Worldwide Decline
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 261.2 million units in 2019, a 0.6% increase from 2018 (see Table 3). This was the first time in seven years that the global PC market experienced growth.
“Geographically, Japan’s annual growth led the overall market’s growth,” said Ms. Kitagawa. “As for vendor performance, the top three vendors grew faster than the market itself, gaining a combined market share of 63.1% in 2019 compared with 60.2% in 2018. Their focus on the business market and more favorable allocations within the current CPU constraints served them well throughout the year.
Table 3
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2019 (Thousands of Units)
Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and ultramobile premiums (such as Microsoft Surface), but not Chromebooks or iPads. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.
Source: Gartner (January 2020)
“Looking ahead, Gartner predicts a continuous decline in the consumer PC market over the next five years. Product innovation is one of the key factors that will enable the overall PC market to maintain sustainable growth. We’ve already started to see this through the ‘foldable laptops’ introduced at CES this past week along with initiatives that make PCs as easy as smartphones by allowing users to always be connected and ensuring a worry-free battery life. Such innovations that change user behavior and create new product segments are something to keep an eye on in 2020 and beyond,” said Ms. Kitagawa.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PCmark et, allowing product planning, distribution, mark eting and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and build the successful organizations of tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and organization size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit www.gartner.com.
“The PC market experienced growth for the first time since 2011, driven by vibrant business demand for Windows 10 upgrades, particularly in the U.S., EMEA and Japan,” said Mikako Kitagawa, senior principal analyst at Gartner. “We expect this growth to continue through this year even after Windows 7 support comes to an end this month, as many businesses in emerging regions such as China, Eurasia and the emerging Asia/Pacific have not yet upgraded.”
“Contrasted against the ongoing weakness in consumer PC demand, business PC demand has led to unit growth in five of the last seven quarters,” said Ms. Kitagawa. “The ongoing Intel CPU shortage, which began mid-last year, became a major issue again on PC delivery to enterprise customers by the top three vendors. Without this shortage, shipments would have grown faster than the reported results.”
Despite these chip constraints, the top three vendors increased their combined market share through 2019 to the highest level since Gartner began tracking PC data. Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell accounted for nearly 65% of PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2019, up from just more than 61% in the fourth quarter of 2018 (see Table 1).
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q19 (Thousands of Units)
Company | 4Q19 Shipments | 4Q19 Market Share (%) | 4Q18 Shipments | 4Q18 Market Share (%) | 4Q19-4Q18 Growth (%) |
| Lenovo | 17,498 | 24.8 | 16,418 | 23.8 | 6.6 |
| HP Inc. | 16,129 | 22.8 | 15,301 | 22.2 | 5.4 |
| Dell | 12,114 | 17.2 | 10,805 | 15.7 | 12.1 |
| Apple | 5,262 | 7.5 | 5,425 | 7.9 | -3.0 |
| ASUS | 4,062 | 5.8 | 4,100 | 5.9 | -0.9 |
| Acer Group | 3,994 | 5.7 | 3,861 | 5.6 | 3.5 |
| Others | 11,553 | 16.4 | 13,104 | 19.0 | -11.8 |
| Total | 70,612 | 100.0 | 69,014 | 100.0 | 2.3 |
Source: Gartner (January 2020)
Lenovo maintained its No. 1 position in the worldwide PC market and widened its share over HP Inc. With the exception of the Asia/Pacific, Lenovo recorded year-over-year growth in all regions. In the U.S. alone, Lenovo’s desktop PC shipments rose more than 30% compared with a year ago.
HP Inc. experienced its third quarter in a row of year-over-year shipment growth, and kept its top position in the U.S., EMEA and Latin America. However, it is facing aggressive competition from Lenovo and Dell. Dell finished the fourth quarter of 2019 with a record number of shipments, exceeding 12 million units for the first time since Gartner started tracking PC shipments. Dell’s shipments grew year-over-year in all regions at a much higher rate compared with the regional average, due in large part to its particularly strong desktop PC growth.
The U.S. PC market grew 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019 with double-digit growth of desktop PCs for the first time since 2014.
PC shipments in EMEA increased 3.6% year over year to 21 million units, with the fourth quarter of 2019 marking the second consecutive quarter of shipment growth as regional demand improves. In Western Europe, the required Windows 10 upgrade outweighed any uncertainty surrounding Brexit. However, negative consumer confidence in the U.K. translated into the delay of many PC purchases.
The Asia/Pacific PC market totaled 22 million units in the fourth quarter of 2019, a 6.1% decline from the fourth quarter of 2018. This marks the region’s fifth straight quarter of decline. The decline can be attributed to weaker PC spending in China, the country that represents around 60% of the total Asia/Pacific PC market, over political and trade concerns.
Modest PC Market Growth in the Full Year of 2019 After Seven Consecutive Years of Worldwide Decline
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 261.2 million units in 2019, a 0.6% increase from 2018 (see Table 3). This was the first time in seven years that the global PC market experienced growth.
“Geographically, Japan’s annual growth led the overall market’s growth,” said Ms. Kitagawa. “As for vendor performance, the top three vendors grew faster than the market itself, gaining a combined market share of 63.1% in 2019 compared with 60.2% in 2018. Their focus on the business market and more favorable allocations within the current CPU constraints served them well throughout the year.
Table 3
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2019 (Thousands of Units)
Company | 2019 Shipments | 2019 Market Share (%) | 2018 Shipments | 2018 Market Share (%) | 2019-2018 Growth (%) |
| Lenovo | 62,968 | 24.1% | 58,257 | 22.4 | 8.1% |
| HP Inc. | 57,922 | 22.2% | 56,252 | 21.7 | 3.0% |
| Dell | 43,956 | 16.8% | 41,790 | 16.1 | 5.2% |
| Apple | 18,350 | 7.0% | 18,522 | 7.1 | -0.9% |
| Acer Group | 14,762 | 5.7% | 15,729 | 6.1 | -6.1% |
| ASUS | 14,476 | 5.5% | 15,425 | 5.9 | -6.2% |
| Others | 48,804 | 18.7% | 53,788 | 20.7 | 0.6% |
| Total | 261,237 | 100.0 | 259,763 | 100.0 | 0.6 |
Source: Gartner (January 2020)
“Looking ahead, Gartner predicts a continuous decline in the consumer PC market over the next five years. Product innovation is one of the key factors that will enable the overall PC market to maintain sustainable growth. We’ve already started to see this through the ‘foldable laptops’ introduced at CES this past week along with initiatives that make PCs as easy as smartphones by allowing users to always be connected and ensuring a worry-free battery life. Such innovations that change user behavior and create new product segments are something to keep an eye on in 2020 and beyond,” said Ms. Kitagawa.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner’s PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and build the successful organizations of tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and organization size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit www.gartner.com.