Gartner Says Declining Worldwide PC Shipments In Fourth Quarter Of 2012 Signal Structural Shift Of PC Market

The launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 did not have a significant impact on PC shipments in the fourth quarter. Analysts said some PC vendors offered somewhat lackluster form factors in their Windows 8 offerings and missed the excitement of touch. New products are coming to market, and this could drive churn within the installed base.

HP regained the top position in worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2012 (see Table 1), however the company’s shipments did not grow compared to a year ago. Analysts said HP most likely gave up a certain margin level to gain market shares. HP was successful in managing large retail deals targeting Microsoft’s Windows 8 launch and holiday sales in selected regions.

Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q12 (Units)
Company		4Q12 Shipments		4Q12 Market Share (%)		4Q11 Shipments		4Q11 Market Share (%)		4Q12-4Q11 Growth (%)
HP		14,645,041		16.2		14,711,280		15.5		-0.5
Lenovo		13,976,668		15.5		12,915,766		13.6		8.2
Dell		9,206,391		10.2		11,633,387		12.2		-20.9
Acer Group		8,622,701		9.5		9,690,624		10.2		-11.0
ASUS		6,528,228		7.2		6,133,042		6.5		6.4
Others		37,393,913		41.4		39,934,184		42.0		-6.4
Total		90,372,942		100.0		95,018,284		100.0		-4.9
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad.Data is based on the shipments selling into channels.
Source: Gartner (January 2013)

Lenovo dropped to the No. 2 position in the fourth quarter of 2012, but it experienced the best growth rate (8.2 percent) among the top five PC vendors worldwide. Lenovo’s growth exceeded regional growth rates in North America, EMEA and Asia/Pacific, but lower than the industry average in Latin America and Japan. In North America, Lenovo performed well by expanding in the retail market and protecting professional market.

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