PC market collapses: shipments fall by 21 percent – it will get even worse in the holiday quarter
Expensive memory chips are eating up the PC market. In the third quarter of 2026, global shipments fell by 21 percent. For the fourth quarter, market researchers even expect a decline of 27 percent.
The storage crisis has reached the PC market – and with full force. According to preliminary figures from Counterpoint Research, only 57 million PCs were shipped worldwide in the third quarter of 2026. That is 21 percent less than in the previous year. Compared to the second quarter, the decline is 13.8 percent. The reason: expensive memory chips and other components are driving up device prices. Many customers are waiting it out.
Private customers are holding back
Demand is particularly weak among private individuals. With prices so high, replacing an old device simply isn't worth it for many. The situation looks better for companies: they continue to replace their devices and switch to Windows 11. However, this is not enough to offset the decline.
Furthermore, sales in the third quarter of 2025 were above average. Many customers bought new devices before the end of Windows 10 support. This high comparative figure exacerbates the decline.
Lenovo remains in the lead, HP loses the most
The ranking of the largest manufacturers remains the same, but the losses are unevenly distributed:
- Lenovo: 15 million devices, 26.3 percent market share, minus 23 percent
- HP: 10.3 million devices, 18.1 percent market share, minus 31 percent – the largest decline among the top 5
- Dell: 7.6 million devices, 13.3 percent market share, minus 25 percent
- Apple: 5.6 million devices, 9.8 percent market share (previous year: 8.7 percent), minus 11 percent
- Asus: 5.2 million devices, 9.2 percent market share (previous year: 7.8 percent), minus 7 percent
Together, the five manufacturers account for 76.7 percent of the market. All other providers shipped 13.3 million devices – a decline of 16 percent.
Apple and Asus are holding up better
In relative terms, the winners are Apple and Asus. Both are losing less than the market and gaining share. According to Counterpoint, the MacBook Neo helped cushion the decline for Apple. Asus has the smallest decline of the top 5 and even grew by 19.4 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Dell, on the other hand, shows that even the corporate business is not immune to the crisis. Despite stable demand from companies, the manufacturer lost a quarter of its shipments.
Will it get worse?
Yes. Counterpoint expects a decline of 27 percent for the fourth quarter of 2026 compared to the previous year. For 2027, analysts expect roughly the same number of shipments for the year as a whole as in 2026. This is not a recovery, but rather a leveling off at a lower level.
Counterpoint analyst David Naranjo speaks of a structural adjustment: higher costs, higher prices, and longer usage periods are permanently changing the market. Accordingly, the winners will be those manufacturers who combine innovation with fair prices, an intact supply chain, and genuine added value.
For buyers, this means: if you need a PC, you shouldn't hope for falling prices. And those who can use their device for another year or two should probably do so.
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