Global PC Shipments Drop 21 Percent in Third Quarter as Component Costs Bite

Worldwide PC shipments fell 21 percent year over year in the third quarter, according to data from market research firm Counterpoint. The industry shipped more than 70 million units in the same period a year earlier, but the latest figure has shrunk to 57 million.

The decline is also steep when measured against the previous quarter, with shipments down 13.8 percent. That suggests the downturn is gathering pace. Counterpoint expects the slide to continue, forecasting a fourth-quarter drop of roughly 27 percent compared with a year earlier.

Higher prices are the main driver. PC components have continued to climb in cost because of the ongoing AI-driven memory shortage, which some in the industry have nicknamed "RAMageddon," as well as global tariffs. Many buyers have found it difficult to keep up.

"The global PC market is facing mounting pressure as rising memory and component costs push system prices higher and force consumers to delay replacement purchases," said Counterpoint senior analyst Minsoo Kang. "With affordability becoming an increasingly critical purchasing factor, even market leaders are struggling to maintain shipment momentum."

There is some context that softens the figures. 2025 was a strong year for PC shipments, and early 2026 was as well, as consumers rushed to buy new computers before prices rose further. The current slump therefore follows a period of pulled-forward demand. Buyers may return if memory and other component prices come down, but Counterpoint's research suggests that is unlikely to happen soon, and it expects 2027 to look much the same.

Vendors have been affected unevenly. Lenovo remains the market leader but saw a 23 percent year-over-year decline, worse than the industry average. HP fell 31 percent over the same period, and Dell dropped 25 percent.

Apple fared better, with an 11 percent decline that actually lifted its overall market share. The report credits this likely to the budget-friendly MacBook Neo. ASUS recorded the smallest drop among the top vendors, at 7 percent year over year.

Counterpoint is not the only firm tracking the market. The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently published similar third-quarter numbers. In an October 8, 2026 post, IDC cited a 20.1 percent decline in worldwide PC shipments and noted that the third quarter normally outperforms the second, but in 2026 it came in 9.1 percent lower. The firm pointed to an inventory pull-in underneath the headline figure as the rest of the story.