Global PC shipments fell 21.2% in the third quarter — Cyprus Mail
Global shipments of desktop computers, laptops and workstations in the third quarter of 2026 fell by 21.2% year on year to 58.1 million units. The reasons were rising component costs, which pushed up device prices, and weakening demand, Cyprus Mail reports, citing research firm Omdia.
Laptops and desktop PCs lost shipments
Shipments of desktop computers, including desktop workstations, declined by 23.5% to 11.7 million units. Laptop shipments, including mobile workstations, decreased by 20.6% to 46.4 million units.
Omdia Research Director Ishan Dutt said the sharp decline in shipments was not unexpected after active purchasing in the first half of the year. According to him, major manufacturers had forecast a double-digit decline in unit sales in the second half of the year during the previous reporting cycle.
Retailers recorded double-digit growth in average selling prices alongside declining sales, as higher component costs were passed on to consumers and corporate technology buyers. In the third quarter, manufacturers and their partners began cutting output, while distributors continued selling accumulated inventories.
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More expensive memory and a forecast of decline
Pressure on supply chains was intensified by rising prices for memory and storage devices, as well as shortages of processors, graphics cards and other integrated circuits. Omdia Chief Analyst Ben Ye noted that the share of DRAM modules and SSDs in the cost of a personal computer rose from a typical level of about 15% to nearly 40%, while their prices increased more than fourfold.
Omdia forecasts that the PC market will shrink by another 24% in the fourth quarter of 2026 and by 7% for the full year 2027.
Lenovo retained first place in the global market, shipping 14.9 million devices and taking a 26% share. HP ranked second: its shipments fell 31% to 10.3 million units, while its market share declined to 18%. Dell shipped 7.6 million devices and retained 13% of the market. Apple shipped 6.8 million computers, 11% fewer than a year earlier, but increased its market share by more than one percentage point. Asus completed the top five with 5.4 million devices shipped, while its market share rose to 9.3% year on year.
