IDC’s preliminary estimate put worldwide shipments of traditional PCs at 62.7 million units in Q3 2026, down 20.1% from the same quarter a year earlier. The estimate, published by IDC on October 8, also showed shipments falling 9.1% from Q2 2026.
The figure covers desktops, notebooks and workstations. It counts units shipped to distribution channels or end users, and excludes tablets and x86 servers. IDC said the quarter reversed the usual seasonal pattern, when Q3 shipments typically exceed Q2, and marked a second consecutive year-over-year decline; shipments had fallen 3.8% year over year in Q2.
How the leading PC vendors performed
Lenovo remained the largest vendor, with 14.9 million shipments and 23.8% of the market. HP Inc. and Dell Technologies also shipped fewer PCs than a year earlier, with declines steeper than the market’s overall drop. Apple and ASUS saw smaller shipment declines and gained share.
| Vendor | Q3 2026 shipments (millions) | Q3 2026 market share | Year-over-year shipment change |
| Lenovo | 14.9 | 23.8% | −22.6% |
| HP Inc. | 10.3 | 16.5% | −30.9% |
| Dell Technologies | 7.6 | 12.1% | −25.0% |
| Apple | 5.9 | 9.5% | −11.3% |
| ASUS | 5.5 | 8.7% | −8.6% |
IDC’s preliminary estimates of worldwide PC shipments and market share.
HP Inc. had the steepest shipment decline among these five vendors. Apple’s shipments fell 11.3% year over year, but its share rose from 8.5% to 9.5%; ASUS shipments fell 8.6% as its share increased from 7.6% to 8.7%. Together, Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell Technologies ceded 4.2 percentage points of market share.
Why shipments weakened
IDC pointed to several factors: vendors and distribution channels brought inventory forward earlier in the year ahead of expected memory-related price increases, supply constraints continued, and high prices weighed on the quarter. IDC linked elevated prices to AI data-center build-out as part of that broader explanation.
The earlier inventory build-up also disrupted the typical Q3 seasonal lift. High prices were a concern for distribution channels, and IDC said promotions could offer consumers short-term relief. Its outlook was for PC prices to remain elevated and above year-earlier levels.
IDC’s figures are preliminary estimates, and rounded values may not sum exactly.
