Global PC Shipments Fall 4.9% as Memory Crisis Deepens

Global PC shipments fell 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) to 68.2M units in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, according to IDC. The decline ended nine consecutive quarters of growth. IDC reported that the slowdown was driven by an ongoing memory chip shortage, higher storage costs, and geopolitical challenges that continue to pressure the supply chain.

Despite weaker shipments, PC vendors generated more revenue by raising prices. Jitesh Ubrani, Research Director for Consumer Devices at IDC, noted that the market is seeing a “disconnect between units and dollars," with vendors increasing prices faster than demand is falling. He added that the memory shortage is expected to continue until early 2028.

Vendors are also preparing for more price increases in 2027, while channel partners remain concerned about high-cost inventory.

Apple Stands Out as Other PC Makers Lose Shipments

Lenovo remained the market leader with 16.6M shipments and a 24.4% market share. However, its shipments declined 2.1% from a year ago. HP shipped 13M units, down 9%. Dell delivered 9.3M units, down 5%.

Meanwhile, ASUS was nearly flat at 5M units. Overall, shipments from all other vendors dropped 10.5%.

Apple was one of the only two top five PC vendors to post growth, shipping 6.7M Macs, up 10.1% YoY. Its market share also increased from 8.5% to 9.9%. IDC attributed the growth to the MacBook Neo launch, saying the company remained well positioned despite raising prices in line with the broader market.

Memory Supply Could Decide the Next Phase of the PC Market

IDC believes the memory shortage will strengthen the industry's biggest players.

Vice-President, Data & Analytics, at IDC Canada, Jean Philippe Bouchard, stated that companies with stronger supplier relationships and greater buying power are better placed to secure memory supplies and gain market share. The firm also warned that higher component costs could slow the PC upgrade cycle, even as demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-capable PCs continues to grow due to rising cloud computing costs.

IDC's report covers traditional PCs, including notebooks, desktops, and workstations, but excludes tablets and x86 servers.