The global PC market faces a "winter"! Q3 shipments plunged by over 20%, Apple (AAPL.US) gains market share against the trend

According to Jinse Finance, research institution IDC stated on Thursday that due to supply constraints and early inventory stocking dragging down sales, the personal computer (PC) market plummeted over 20% year-on-year in the third quarter. Despite the overall market downturn, Apple (AAPL.US) performed better than the average and achieved an increase in market share.

IDC reported that in the third quarter, PC shipments reached 62.7 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.1%. IDC added that this was already the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year declines in PC shipments, and the decline was significantly higher than the 3.8% drop observed in the second quarter. Shipments fell 9.1% quarter-on-quarter, which is particularly noteworthy since, historically, third-quarter shipments are usually higher than those of the second quarter.

Jitesh Ubrani, IDC’s research director for consumer devices, stated in a release: “What we are seeing now is the result of strong early stocking in the first half of the year. Manufacturers and channel partners stocked up in bulk early this year to get ahead of price increases, disrupting the usual seasonal pattern—where the third quarter is typically larger than the second quarter. Now, channel partners are starting to worry about excess inventory in a market environment where high prices are suppressing demand. For consumers, this may mean more promotional activity and some short-term relief, but we do not expect prices to get close to the levels seen a year ago. Prices will remain at relatively high levels. As the macroeconomic environment deteriorates, the risk is that the outlook for the coming quarters could worsen further before it gets better.”

Lenovo became the largest PC manufacturer in the quarter, with shipments reaching 14.9 million units and accounting for 23.8% market share. IDC added that this performance was weaker than in the third quarter of 2025, when Lenovo shipped 19.3 million units and held a 24.6% market share.

Apple performed better than the overall market, holding a 9.5% market share at the end of the quarter—higher than the 8.5% in the third quarter of 2025. However, like its competitors, Apple’s shipments also declined. IDC added that the company shipped 5.9 million units in the quarter, down from 6.7 million in the same period last year.

HP (HPQ.US), Dell Technologies (DELL.US), and Asus rounded out the top five PC manufacturers. In the third quarter of 2026, these three companies accounted for market shares of 16.5%, 12.1%, and 8.7%, compared to 19.1%, 12.9%, and 7.6% in the same period in 2025. Their shipments during the quarter were 10.3 million units, 7.6 million units, and 5.5 million units, respectively.