Lenovo, HP, Dell PC Shipments Are Skyrocketing

CRN breaks down the top five vendors that shipped the most PCs in the fourth quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic is opening up new market opportunities for the likes of Apple, Dell Technologies, HP and Lenovo.

New Market Opportunity For PCs

The global COVID-19 pandemic is fueling not only greater PC demands around remote work and learning, but is now opening the door to net new opportunities that is expanding the PC market, according to new data from research firm IDC.

The world’s top three market leaders of Dell Technologies, HP Inc. and Lenovo all grew PC shipments by double digits year over year in the fourth quarter 2020. A total of 91.6 million PCs were shipped globally in the fourth quarter, up a whopping 26 percent year over year.

“Demand is pushing the PC market forward and all signs indicate this surge still has a way to go,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president of IDC‘s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers in a statement. “The obvious drivers for last year’s growth centered around work from home and remote learning needs, but the strength of the consumer market should not be overlooked. We continue to see gaming PCs and monitor sales at all-time highs and Chrome-based devices are expanding beyond education into the consumer market. In retrospect, the pandemic not only fueled PC market demand but also created opportunities that resulted in a market expansion.”

CRN breaks down the top five PC market leaders who sold the most PCs from to October 2020 to December 2020.

Notable Market Trends: ‘Supply Chain Was Stretched To Its Limits’

Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC‘s Mobile Device Trackers, said every segment of the supply chain was stretched to its limits as production “once again lagged behind demand” during the final quarter of 2020.

“Not only were PC makers and ODMs dealing with component and production capacity shortages, but logistics remained an issue as vendors were forced to resort to air freight, upping costs at the expense of reducing delivery times,” said IDC’s Ubrani in a statement.

Another key data point is that IDC released total 2020 PC global shipments data, which saw its greatest growth in a decade.

The total number of PCs shipped worldwide in 2020 reached 302.6 million representing a 13.1 percent increase compared to 2019. The PC market hasn’t witnessed such a high annual growth rate since 2010, when the market was up 13.7 percent year over year, according to IDC.

5. Acer Group

Shipment Market Share: 7.2%

Acer Group ranks fifth for PC shipment share in the fourth quarter of 2020 by capturing 7.2 percent share globally. The Taiwan-based company shipped a total of 6.55 million PCs in the quarter, representing an increase of 48 percent year over year. This shipment spike enabled Acer Group to grow its market share from 6.1 percent share in fourth quarter 2019 to 7.2 percent share.

Acer Group shipped more PCs worldwide than any other company in 2020 besides the much larger players of Lenovo, HP, Dell Technologies and Apple. In 2020, the company shipped a total of nearly 68 million PCs, up nearly 23 percent compared to 2019.

4. Apple

Shipment Market Share: 8%

The iPhone giant witnessed the largest PC shipment growth in the fourth quarter of 2020. Apple shipped 7.35 million PCs in the fourth quarter, up nearly 50 percent year over year. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company was able to increase its PC market shipment share from 6.8 percent in fourth quarter 2019 to 8 percent.

Looking at PC shipments for the entire 2020, Apple shipped a total of 23.1 million PCs in the year, up 29 percent compared to 2019. Apple’s worldwide market share climbed from 6.7 percent in 2019 to 7.6 percent this year.

3. Dell Technologies

Shipment Market Share: 17.2%

The $92 billion infrastructure giant saw PC shipments spike 27 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. Dell Technologies shipped 15.8 million PCs in the fourth quarter compared to 12.5 million one year ago. Dell captured 17.2 percent worldwide market share, representing flat share growth year over year.

Dell Technologies shipped a total of 50.3 million PCs in 2020, up from 46.5 million in 2019. Although annual PC shipments climbed 8 percent in 2020 for Dell, the company’s market share fell to 16.6 percent in 2020, down from 17.4 percent in 2019.

2. HP Inc.

Shipment Market Share: 20.9%

HP Inc. won the silver medal in terms of global PC shipment market share in fourth quarter 2020 by winning 20.9 percent share. HP shipped a total of 19.1 million PCs in fourth quarter 2020, up 11.3 percent year over year. However, HPs shipment growth wasn’t as big as its competitors. Therefore, HP’s market share of 20.9 percent was lower year over year compared to HP’s 23.7 percent share in fourth quarter 2019.

In 2020, HP shipped a total of 67.6 million PCs worldwide throughout the year, up 7.5 percent compared to 63 million the company shipped in 2019. HP’s PC shipment market share in 2020 was 22.4 percent compared to 23.5 percent share in 2019.

1. Lenovo

Shipment Market Share: 25.2%

Lenovo, once again, shipped more PCs than any other company on the planet in fourth quarter 2020. The Hong Kong-based PC giant and data center infrastructure provider shipped 23.1 million PCs in the fourth quarter, up 29 percent year over year. This growth enabled Lenovo to win 25.2 percent PC shipment market share up from 24.7 percent share year over year.

In 2020, Lenovo shipped the most PCs in the world by shipping a total 72.7 million PCs, up 12 percent year over year. Lenovo was first place in terms of total PC shipments in 2020 by winning 24 percent share, which is slightly down from 24.2 percent share in 2019.