Worldwide PC shipments hit 284.7 million units in 2025, up 8.1% year over year, the strongest full year since the pandemic boom (IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, January 2026). Gartner clocked a similar 9.1% full-year gain, and Omdia counted 279.5 million units. Then the story flipped: IDC now forecasts an 11.3% shipment decline in 2026 as a severe memory shortage drives prices up rather than volumes. Lenovo, HP, and Dell still control roughly 60% of the market between them. This analysis consolidates data from IDC, Gartner, Omdia, Canalys, and 6 other primary sources spanning shipment trackers, forecast revisions, and pricing outlooks.
TL;DR
- Worldwide PC shipments reached 284.7 million units in 2025, up 8.1% (IDC, Jan 2026).
- Gartner reported full-year 2025 growth of 9.1%; Omdia counted 279.5 million units, up 9.2% (Gartner; Omdia, Jan 2026).
- Q4 2025 shipments jumped 9.6% to 76.4 million units, the year’s fastest quarter (IDC).
- Lenovo led 2025 with 70.8 million units and 24.9% share (IDC); Gartner scored it even higher at 27.2% (Gartner).
- IDC forecasts an 11.3% unit decline in 2026, cut from an earlier -2.4% estimate (IDC, Mar 2026).
- Gartner expects combined DRAM and SSD prices to surge 130% by end-2026, raising PC prices about 17% (Gartner, Feb 2026).
- PC market value is still projected to rise 1.6% to $274 billion in 2026 despite falling units (IDC).
- AI PCs are forecast at 55% of shipments and 143 million units in 2026, up from 31% in 2025 (Gartner).
- Canalys counted more than 100 million AI-capable PCs shipped in 2025, roughly 40% of the market (Canalys).
- PC gaming hardware sales hit a record $44.5 billion in 2025, up 35% (Jon Peddie Research).
- Windows 11 reached 69.9% of desktop Windows share by June 2026 versus 28.2% for Windows 10 (StatCounter).
1. Market Size and 2025 Growth
The PC market spent 2025 recovering hard, then set up for a fall. Every major tracker agrees the year grew high single digits, but the totals diverge by methodology: IDC counted 284.7 million units while Gartner’s math implies roughly 270 million and Omdia landed at 279.5 million - a 15-million-unit spread that reflects how each firm handles workstations, detachables, and channel sell-in. Momentum built through the year, from mid-single-digit growth early on to double digits by the holiday quarter, as buyers pulled purchases forward ahead of tariffs, the Windows 10 cutoff, and looming memory price hikes. Notebooks remain the volume engine at roughly four of every five units shipped.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide PC shipments, 2025 | 284.7M units, +8.1% YoY | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Worldwide PC shipments, 2025 (alt) | 279.5M units, +9.2% YoY | Omdia, Jan 2026 |
| Full-year 2025 growth | +9.1% YoY | Gartner, Jan 2026 |
| 2025 form-factor split | ~219.7M notebooks vs ~59.1M desktops | Omdia, Jan 2026 |
| Q2 2025 shipments | 67.6M units, +7.4% YoY | Canalys, Jul 2025 |
| Q3 2025 growth | +8.1% YoY | Counterpoint, Oct 2025 |
| Q4 2025 shipments | 76.4M units, +9.6% YoY | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Q4 2025 shipments (alt) | 75.0M units, +10.1% YoY | Omdia, Jan 2026 |
Divergence note: the trackers differ on absolute totals but agree on direction and rank order, which is why cross-referencing at least two is standard practice for PC data. Attached-device demand tends to move with these cycles, a pattern visible in monitor market statistics.
2. Vendor Market Share
Concentration keeps tightening at the top. Lenovo shipped 70.8 million PCs in 2025 for 24.9% share by IDC’s count, and Gartner scores it higher still at 73.5 million units and 27.2% - either way, its widest lead over HP in years. HP held second near 20-21% share, Dell third around 14-16%, and the two US vendors grew slower than the market as Americas demand lagged. Apple took roughly 9% with about 25.6 million units, and ASUS rounded out the top five at 7.2% share and 13.4% growth (IDC), edging past Acer in early 2026. The IDC-versus-Gartner gap per vendor is the clearest reminder that “market share” depends entirely on whose tracker you read.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo, 2025 (IDC) | 70.8M units, 24.9% share, +14.5% | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Lenovo, 2025 (Gartner) | 73.5M units, 27.2% share, +17.6% | Gartner, Jan 2026 |
| HP, 2025 (IDC) | 57.5M units, 20.2% share, +8.4% | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| HP, 2025 (Gartner) | 57.4M units, 21.5% share | Gartner, Jan 2026 |
| Dell, 2025 (IDC) | 41.1M units, 14.4% share, +5.1% | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Dell, 2025 (Gartner) | 41.4M units, 16.5% share | Gartner, Jan 2026 |
Outlier note: Apple’s 25.6 million units (9.0% share, +11.1%) and ASUS’s 20.5 million (7.2%, +13.4%) per IDC put both ahead of Acer, and in Q1 2026 Gartner confirmed ASUS overtook Acer for the number-five spot.
3. The Memory Shortage and the 2026 Reversal
This is the year the market stops selling more boxes and starts charging more for them. IDC cut its 2026 forecast to an 11.3% shipment decline, a steep revision from the -2.4% it projected in November 2025, and Gartner independently forecasts a 10.4% drop - the sharpest device contraction in over a decade. The cause is not weak demand but a DRAM and NAND shortage that AI-server buildouts have made worse, with no meaningful relief expected before late 2027. Prices are the release valve: Gartner sees combined memory prices up 130% by end-2026, and IDC has warned Q4 2026 shipments could fall around 20% year over year as buyers balk at higher tags. Yet revenue holds up, because average selling prices climb faster than volumes fall.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 PC shipment forecast | -11.3% YoY (cut from -2.4%) | IDC, Mar 2026 |
| 2026 PC market value | +1.6% to $274 billion despite unit drop | IDC, Mar 2026 |
| Q4 2026 shipment outlook | ~ -20% YoY | IDC, Mar 2026 |
| 2026 PC shipment forecast (Gartner) | -10.4% YoY | Gartner, Feb 2026 |
| Combined DRAM + SSD price rise by end-2026 | +130% vs 2025 | Gartner, Feb 2026 |
| Memory-driven PC price increase, 2026 | +17% vs 2025 | Gartner, Feb 2026 |
| Q1 2026 shipments | 62.8M units, +4% YoY (inventory build) | Gartner, Apr 2026 |
Context note: IDC pegs 2026 PC average selling prices up about 18% and expects tablet units to fall 7.9% while tablet market value grows 3.9% to $66.8 billion - the same units-down, revenue-up dynamic. The shortage originates upstream, detailed in our semiconductor industry statistics.
4. AI PCs and Copilot+ Adoption
The AI PC transition is real but its size depends on the definition. Gartner estimated AI PCs at 31% of the market in 2025 and forecasts 55% - about 143 million units - in 2026, while Canalys counted more than 100 million AI-capable machines shipped in 2025 alone. The wedge between “AI PC” (Gartner, tied to NPU thresholds) and “AI-capable PC” (Canalys, broader) is why headline numbers vary. What both agree on is trajectory: the commercial refresh cycle is the accelerant, and Intel executives have publicly said AI PCs should top half the market in 2026. Architecturally, x86 still dominates: Arm-based designs stayed capped around 13% of 2025 shipments despite Qualcomm’s Snapdragon push.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| AI PCs, 2025 | 31% of PC market, 77.8M units | Gartner, Aug 2025 |
| AI PCs, 2026 | 55% of market, 143M units | Gartner, Aug 2025 |
| AI-capable PCs, 2025 | 100M+ units, ~40% of shipments | Canalys, 2025 |
| AI-capable PCs, 2028 forecast | 205M units, 44% CAGR (2024-2028) | Canalys, 2025 |
| Commercial AI PC share by 2027 | ~60% | Canalys, 2025 |
| Arm-based PC share, 2025 | Under 13% of shipments | ABI Research, 2025 |
| Snapdragon X ecosystem | 60+ PC designs in production, 100+ by 2026 | Qualcomm, Jan 2025 |
Outlier note: Arm’s ceiling contrasts sharply with public ambitions - Qualcomm and Arm executives have floated 50% Windows-on-Arm share within five years, a target well beyond ABI’s near-term 13% read.
5. Regional and Segment Split
The rebound was lopsided by geography and buyer type. In Q3 2025, IDC measured EMEA and Asia Pacific each near 14% growth while the Americas grew just 1%, dragged by US import tariffs and softer consumer demand. The US is expected to hold flat at roughly 70 to 72 million units in both 2025 and 2026, sub-2% growth, even as the rest of the world upgraded. By segment, commercial fleets did the heavy lifting: businesses raced to replace Windows 10 machines while consumers, facing macro uncertainty, delayed purchases. Notebooks outgrew desktops on volume, but desktops posted their own solid quarter as workstation and gaming rigs refreshed.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Americas growth, Q3 2025 | +1% YoY | IDC, Oct 2025 |
| EMEA and Asia Pacific growth, Q3 2025 | ~ +14% YoY each | IDC, Oct 2025 |
| US PC shipments, 2025-2026 | 70-72M units/year, sub-2% growth | IDC, Oct 2025 |
| Notebook shipments, Q2 2025 | 53.9M units, +7% YoY | Canalys, Jul 2025 |
| Desktop shipments, Q2 2025 | 13.7M units, +9% YoY | Canalys, Jul 2025 |
| Lenovo, Q2 2025 | 17.0M units, +15.2% YoY | Canalys, Jul 2025 |
| Channel outlook, H2 2025 | 29% of partners expected 10%+ growth | Canalys, Jul 2025 |
Context note: Apple’s Q2 2025 result underscored consumer resilience at the premium end, shipping 6.4 million Macs for 21.3% growth and a 9.4% share (Canalys), the fastest gain among the top five that quarter.
6. Demand Drivers: Windows 10 Cutoff and Gaming
Two forces converted the installed base into shipments. Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025 (Microsoft), and by June 2026 Windows 11 ran on 69.9% of desktop Windows PCs versus 28.2% still on Windows 10 (StatCounter) - a migration that turned corporate IT budgets into new-PC orders. Gaming added its own tailwind: Jon Peddie Research put PC gaming hardware sales at a record $44.5 billion in 2025, up 35%, partly because Windows 11 requirements pushed gamers to upgrade GPUs and whole rigs. Even Apple, largely insulated from the Windows refresh, saw Mac shipments go flat in Q4 2025 as Windows rivals surged on the same demand wave.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 end of support | October 14, 2025 | Microsoft, 2025 |
| Windows 11 desktop share, June 2026 | 69.9% | StatCounter, Jun 2026 |
| Windows 10 desktop share, June 2026 | 28.2% | StatCounter, Jun 2026 |
| PC gaming hardware sales, 2025 | $44.5 billion, +35% YoY (record) | Jon Peddie Research, 2025 |
| PC gaming hardware, through 2028 | Sustained above $40 billion/year | Jon Peddie Research, 2025 |
| Apple Mac shipments, Q4 2025 | 7.1M units, +0.2% (flat) | IDC, Jan 2026 |
Context note: the Windows 11 and Windows 10 crossover happened worldwide in July 2025, months before end-of-support, per StatCounter. For the operating-system view rather than hardware, see our Windows 11 statistics; for the graphics and rig side, see PC gaming hardware statistics.
Summary: PC Market by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide PC shipments, 2025 | 284.7M units, +8.1% YoY | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Worldwide PC shipments, 2025 (alt count) | 279.5M units, +9.2% | Omdia, Jan 2026 |
| Full-year 2025 growth | +9.1% YoY | Gartner, Jan 2026 |
| Q4 2025 shipments | 76.4M units, +9.6% | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| Lenovo share, 2025 | 24.9% (IDC) / 27.2% (Gartner) | IDC; Gartner |
| HP share, 2025 | 20.2% (IDC) / 21.5% (Gartner) | IDC; Gartner |
| Dell share, 2025 | 14.4% (IDC) / 16.5% (Gartner) | IDC; Gartner |
| Apple units, 2025 | 25.6M, 9.0% share, +11.1% | IDC, Jan 2026 |
| 2026 shipment forecast (IDC) | -11.3% YoY | IDC, Mar 2026 |
| 2026 shipment forecast (Gartner) | -10.4% YoY | Gartner, Feb 2026 |
| 2026 PC market value | +1.6% to $274 billion | IDC, Mar 2026 |
| Combined memory price rise by end-2026 | +130% | Gartner, Feb 2026 |
| AI PCs, 2026 | 55% of market, 143M units | Gartner, Aug 2025 |
| AI-capable PCs, 2025 | 100M+ units, ~40% share | Canalys, 2025 |
| Arm-based PC share, 2025 | Under 13% | ABI Research, 2025 |
| Q3 2025 Americas growth | +1% vs ~14% EMEA/APAC | IDC, Oct 2025 |
| PC gaming hardware sales, 2025 | $44.5 billion, +35% | Jon Peddie Research, 2025 |
| Windows 11 desktop share, June 2026 | 69.9% | StatCounter, Jun 2026 |
| Q1 2026 shipments | 62.8M units, +4% | Gartner, Apr 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered from the January-April 2026 quarterly PC trackers, forecast revisions, and pricing outlooks published by the major research firms, cross-referenced across at least two trackers wherever unit and share figures appear. IDC and Gartner serve as the two anchor trackers; totals differ by methodology, so both are shown side by side rather than blended.
- IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker and 2026 Outlook (2026)
- IDC, PC Market Enters Volatile Territory as Memory Shortage Persists Through 2027 (2026)
- IDC, Q3 2025 Worldwide PC shipments press release (2025)
- Gartner, Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 9.1% for Full-Year 2025 (Jan 2026)
- Gartner, Surging Memory Costs Will Reduce Global PC and Smartphone Shipments in 2026 (Feb 2026)
- Gartner, Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 4% in Q1 2026 (Apr 2026)
- Gartner, AI PCs Will Represent 31% of the Worldwide PC Market by End of 2025 (Aug 2025)
- Omdia, Global PC Shipments Grew 9% in 2025 (Jan 2026)
- Canalys, Worldwide PC Shipments Up 7% in Q2 2025 (Jul 2025)
- Canalys/Omdia, Now and Next for AI-Capable PCs (2025)
- Counterpoint Research, Global PC Market Q3 2025 (2025)
- ABI Research, Arm PC market share forecast (2025)
- Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Series press release (Jan 2025)
- Jon Peddie Research, PC Gaming Hardware Market Skyrockets (2025)
- Microsoft, Windows 10 support has ended (October 14, 2025)
- StatCounter, Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide (Jun 2026)
Data watch: IDC, Gartner, Canalys, and Omdia publish worldwide PC shipment trackers every quarter, so Q2 2026 preliminary numbers are due in July 2026 and will be the next major revision to the 2026 forecast. Gartner and IDC update their full-year outlooks quarterly as the memory shortage evolves; StatCounter refreshes monthly. Jon Peddie Research issues its PC gaming hardware update roughly quarterly.
Last updated: July 16, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.