PC Shipments Grew 1.4 Percent in Q4 and 1.3 Percent in 2024

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 64.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 1.4% increase from the fourth quarter of 2023, according to preliminary results by Gartner. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of sustained shipment growth. For the year, PC shipments reached 245.3 million units in 2024, a 1.3% increase from 2023. This marks the second consecutive year shipment volume has dipped below 250 million.

“Despite the increased expectations for the adoption of AI PCs and the anticipated Windows 11 PC refresh cycle, the global PC market recorded only modest growth in the fourth quarter of 2024,” said Ranjit Atwal, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. “For consumers, the price of AI PCs was a deterrent to any potential strong adoption, while economic uncertainties in some regions, such as China and parts of Europe, continued to stifle PC demand. We expect PC demand to pick up and the market to see solid growth in 2025, reflecting delayed Windows 11 PC refresh demand and the increasing business value of AI PCs as use cases mature.”

There were no changes in the top six vendor rankings in the fourth quarter of 2024. Lenovo led the list ahead of HP, Dell, Apple, Asus, and Acer. However, there were mixed results in performance. HP and Dell showed a modest decline, but all other vendors recorded year-over-year growth.

Lenovo continued to grow for the fifth consecutive quarter, registering 4.2% growth year-over-year. The vendor’s growth in Japan and the Americas was offset by weakness in Asia Pacific and Canada. The depressed economy in China impacted PC demand in general, but it impacted Lenovo strongly as the country is its largest market. Other vendors had mixed results. HP had a weaker quarter, following five consecutive quarters of growth, while Dell experienced another modest decline in 4Q24, declining 0.1% compared to the same period in 2023.

The U.S. market grew 3.5% in 4Q24 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023 but declined sequentially by 1.7%. The EMEA market fell back into a decline after two-quarters of growth, declining 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Quarter-over-quarter unit volumes were up by single digits, at 3.9%. Annually, the EMEA PC market grew 1.9% over 2023. Low demand in China remained the major factor in pulling down PC growth in the Asia Pacific region, with the total PC market dropping by 12% year-over-year in China. The rest of Asia Pacific, including Japan, performed much better in the fourth quarter of 2024 when businesses looked to consume their year-end budget and the promotion sales for consumer PCs in the holiday seasons. Overall, for the region, desktops declined, while laptop shipments were flat year-over-year.

In 2024, the PC market experienced a period of modest recovery of 1.3% year-over-year, although 2023 was the weakest year in the last 10 years of PC history. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 245.4 million units in 2024, up from 242.3 million units in 2023. Lenovo shipped most devices, ahead of HP, Dell, Apple, Asus, and Acer. Dell was the only vendor in the top 6 with a YoY decline. “This was quite an achievement for PC vendors, considering that the annual market volume was down by 100 million units from 340 million in the peak growth year of 2021, and by 40 million units from pre-pandemic times,” said Atwal.