Apple Gaining Share in Shrinking PC Market

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 27, 4:17PM EDT · Published Oct 9, 1:05PM EDT

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Worldwide unit sales of personal computers (PCs) fell 10.8% in the third quarter, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) continues to move up the worldwide and domestic sales charts. In the third quarter, Apple sold 5.32 million desktop and laptop computers to earn a 7.5% share of the global market for PCs. In the year-ago quarter, Apple sold more PCs (5.51 million units), but the company’s market share was lower at 6.9%.

The global leader in PC sales is Lenovo, with a 21.0% share and unit sales of 14.94 million units in the third quarter, down nearly 5% in unit sales compared with the same period in 2014. In second place is Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) with unit sales of 13.91 million and 19.6% share. Dell ranked third with 10.12 million units sold and market share of 14.3%. Apple ranked fourth and Acer ranked fifth, with unit sales of 5 million and market share of 7.0%.

In all, PC makers sold 70.98 million units in the third quarter compared with 79.56 million units in the third quarter of 2014. The data were reported Thursday by International Data Corp. (IDC).

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Though differing slightly in detailed totals, a similar report on PC shipments from Gartner indicated a third-quarter decline of 7.7% in shipments, and again Apple posted an increased share and a higher volume. According to Gartner, Apple shipped 5.6 million PCs in the third quarter and pulled 7.6% of the market. In the same quarter a year ago, Apple shipped 5.52 million units for a 6.9% share. Dell, which saw its share rise 0.5% year over year, was the only other PC maker to post a volume shipment increase during the third quarter.

Apple performed even better in the United States, according to the IDC report. Domestic sales rose slightly from 2.34 million units in the third quarter a year ago to 2.37 million units this year, but Apple’s market share rose from 13.4% to 13.7%. HP shipped 4.97 million PCs domestically in the quarter for a market share of 28.7%, up 3.4% year over year. Dell ranked second in shipments with 4.15 million and a 24.0% share. Apple ranked third, ahead of Lenovo and Toshiba.

An IDC research manager noted the impact of Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 10 on PC shipments in the third quarter:

The PC market continues to contract as expected, but we remain optimistic about future shipments. While PC shipments will be hampered in the short run by the availability of a free upgrade to Windows 10, the improved PC experience across user segments should drive longer-term demand for new PC hardware that is expected help stabilize the market in 2016 and beyond.

New PCs coming on the market now with improved processors and running Windows 10 may give consumers a reason to buy sooner rather than later. At least, that’s what PC makers are hoping.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.