- Research firms Gartner and IDC differ on whether overall PC shipments were up or down Y/Y, but neither saw a large move in the numbers, suggesting some stabilization from steeper declines.
- And the market leader depends on which firm you ask as well: IDC says HP (HPQ +1%) regained its lead, while Gartner says Lenovo held on by a slight edge while acknowledging HP had the best gains (6.5% increase, ahead of a 4.5% increase by Apple (AAPL -1.1%)).
- IDC (which counts Chromebooks as PCs) says PC shipments were up 0.6% in the first gain in its tracking since 2012. Gartner, meanwhile, saw a 2.4% Y/Y decline.
- Analysts agree that business purchases prop up the market as consumers get less interested.
- "Vendors who do not have a strong presence in the business market will encounter major problems, and they will be forced to exit the PC market in the next five years," says Gartner's Mikako Kitagawa, adding Lenovo, HP and Dell (DVMT +0.3%) are in good position, as is Apple with the help of specific verticals.
Original article