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Semiconductor industry

PC Market Sees Slight Improvement in Fourth Quarter 2014

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The PC market has begun to show signs of stabilization, according to preliminary worldwide PC shipment results for the fourth quarter of 2014 released by Gartner and IDC. Although the data from the two firms shows discrepancies, they both agree that there has been a slight improvement in the PC market. According to Gartner's report, PC shipments during the fourth quarter improved 1% year over year to 83.7 million units, with Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) gaining the most - up 16% - in worldwide PC shipment. However, H-P's 18.8% market share is only second to Lenovo Group's 19.4%.

Key Takeaways:

  • PC shipments during the fourth quarter improved 1% year over year to 83.7 million units, according to Gartner's report.
  • Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) gained the most - up 16% - in worldwide PC shipment, with a 18.8% market share.
  • Lenovo Group secured the market leading position with 19.4% market share, while Dell ended the quarter at the third place with 12.7% market share.
  • Acer Group and Asustek Computer secured the fourth and fifth positions with respective market shares of 8.1% and 7.5%.
  • IDC reported that PC shipments have fallen 2.8% year over year to 80.8 million units, but this is much lower than the research firm's earlier forecast of a 4.8% decline.
  • PC shipments for full-year 2014 declined 2.1% year over year to 308.6 million units, according to IDC.
  • Apple Inc. (AAPL) holds the fifth position in terms of market share with 7.1%, while Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Acer hold the first, second, third, and fourth positions, respectively.
  • The differences in results are mainly due to different techniques used for tracking PCs, including the inclusion of Chromebooks and certain Microsoft machines.

Statistics:

  • 83.7 million units: PC shipments during the fourth quarter, according to Gartner's report.
  • 18.8%: Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) market share, according to Gartner's report.
  • 19.4%: Lenovo Group market share, according to Gartner's report.
  • 80.8 million units: PC shipments, according to IDC's report.
  • 2.1%: Decline in PC shipments for full-year 2014, according to IDC's report.
  • 7.1%: Apple Inc. (AAPL) market share, according to IDC's report.
  • 308.6 million units: PC shipments for full-year 2014, according to IDC's report.

Sources:

  • Gartner report on worldwide PC shipment results for the fourth quarter of 2014
  • IDC report on worldwide PC shipment results for the fourth quarter of 2014
  • Zacks Investment Research article on PC market stabilization

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