PC shipments tumble over 20% in 3Q26 as chip shortages bite
PC shipments for the third quarter of 2026 drop by 15.8 million units, with Lenovo, HP, and Dell being hit the hardest. Memory chip manufacturers estimate that the situation will not improve until 2028 or 2029, even as Acer believes that PC prices will decline by late 2027.
Global PC shipments experienced a 20.1% decline in the third quarter of 2026, with 15.8 million fewer units sold compared to the same period last year, according to IDC Global. This is a more significant decrease than the 3.8% year-over-year drop in the previous quarter and a 9.1% decrease from the previous quarter in 2026. Research firms have been warning about the downward trend in the PC market since late 2025, with IDC predicting a potential 9% market shrinkage, primarily affecting the budget sector.
Experts suggest that the situation may not improve until 2029, and some readers of Tom's Hardware are planning to skip system upgrades for at least two years. AI data centers are consuming a significant portion of the memory and storage supply, with demand for data center CPUs surging and AI agents playing a crucial role. This surge in demand has caused chip scarcity, particularly impacting the auto industry due to Nexperia and DRAM crises.
The price increases in memory chips are directly linked to the rising demand for AI data centers, as hyperscalers invest heavily in HBM for AI GPUs. This has led memory manufacturers to shift their focus toward data center production, leaving less production capacity for consumer memory. For instance, Micron discontinued its Crucial RAM and SSD brand in late 2025 to concentrate on data center production.
Memory prices have skyrocketed by up to 500%, with 128GB DDR5 now costing as much as $3,399. PC manufacturers responded by stockpiling inventory in the second quarter of 2026 to counteract the anticipated price hikes, which contributed to the reduced shipments reported. IDC's Jitesh Ubrani explained that the strong performance in the first half led vendors and channels to accumulate inventory early in the year to avoid price hikes, which disrupted the typical seasonality where Q3 is usually larger than Q2.
The inventory buildup has now left channels concerned about excess stock in a market where high prices are suppressing demand. While other promotions might offer short-term relief to consumers, prices are expected to remain elevated. The top three PC vendors, Lenovo, HP, and Dell, suffered the most, with shipments dropping by 22.6%, 30.9%, and 25%, respectively.
Apple's shipments fell by 11.3%, and Asus's numbers declined by 8.6%. Despite the severe impact, Lenovo, HP, and Dell still maintained their market share at 23.8%, 16.5%, and 12.1%, respectively. Even though memory chip makers warn that the situation will persist for the next few years, Acer CEO Jason Chen dismissed these concerns, suggesting that PC prices will drop by the latter half of 2027 as Chinese memory chip capacity becomes available.
High-end parts such as LPDDR5X-9600 and specific CPUs, like the Nvidia N1 and N1X, are still in short supply.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
