HP is the big winner and the only company to close with a profit. Dell and especially Apple will have to accept losses of 14 to 24 percent compared to 2022.

Last quarter, 64.3 million PCs were shipped, a decline of nine percent compared to the same quarter last year. According to Gartner, the PC market may have started to bottom out and cautiously expects growth in the final quarter of this year.

The main reason is the excess inventory that manufacturers are struggling with this year. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been too few PCs due to the chip shortage. Post-pandemic, PC brands were still going strong, but demand was no longer there due to economic uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine.

According to Gartner, channel inventories would return to normal levels by the end of 2023.

HP as the only breeder

Lenovo remains the market leader in the third quarter of 2023 and increases its market share to 25.1 percent. HP is the fastest growing and has a market share of 21 percent. HP is the only PC maker that shipped more PCs compared to the second quarter of 2022. The PC brand may have better control over its inventory than other manufacturers today.

Dell is suffering from the stagnating business market, on which the company is heavily dependent. The biggest loser this quarter is Apple, which sold almost a quarter fewer MacBooks. Asus also takes a hit. Acer can defend itself better than most manufacturers and gains some market share.

Growth forecast for 2024

Gartner emphasizes that the PC market will gradually awaken. “The enterprise segment is preparing for the next replacement cycle, driven by Windows 11 upgrades. On the consumer side, the first PCs purchased at the beginning of the pandemic will be replaced at the same time.”

For 2024, the analysis agency expects the PC market to grow by 4.9 percent in both segments.