Global PC shipments rose 3 percent last quarter from a year ago. This is reported by analyst firm Counterpoint. This small increase follows eight consecutive quarters of declines due to low demand and excess inventories.
Counterpoint also expects 'sequential growth' in the number of PC deliveries in the coming quarters. This means that the number of deliveries in the full year of 2024 should also grow by 3 percent compared to a year earlier. According to the analyst firm, the growth is partly due to the rise of 'AI PCs' and recovery in the number of deliveries in 'various sectors'. A new upgrade cycle is also currently taking place, in which consumers are replacing their old equipment.
The number of deliveries of market leader Lenovo increased by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The manufacturer delivered 13 .7 million PCs, compared to 12.7 percent a year ago. Acer also experienced relatively large growth; that manufacturer delivered 3.7 million PCs, which represents an increase of about 6 percent. The other manufacturers recorded relatively small increases. Dell's shipments fell by 0.4 percent.
Earlier this month, IDC also reported slight growth in PC shipments, although that analyst firm estimated the increase at 1.5 percent. IDC reported that manufacturers are now supplying approximately the same number of PCs as in the first quarter of 2019, before the corona pandemic. The pandemic initially caused a large increase in demand for PCs, followed by a large decline.
PC deliveries in Q1 2024 (source: Counterpoint Research) Manufacturer Deliveries Q1 2024
(in millions) Deliveries Q1 2023
(in millions) Growth Lenovo 13.7 12.7 +8% HP Inc 12.0 11.9 +1% Dell 9.2 9.3 -0.4% Apple Inc. 5.0 4.9 +2% Acer 3.7 3.5 +6% Other 13.7 13.6 +1%