Global PC Shipments Fall 22.4% To 55.4 Million In Q3 2026 As Rising Memory And Storage Costs Drive Prices Higher

Global PC shipments experienced a sharp 22.4% decline to 55.4 million units in the third quarter of 2026, according to a report from technology insights firm Gartner. The decrease in sales was primarily attributed to higher memory and storage costs, which vendors subsequently passed onto consumers, causing prices to rise. In a statement, Namrata Banerjee, Principal Research at Gartner, commented that the market dynamics in Q3 2026 were different from previous downturns, with the decline driven by higher prices, vendor prioritisation of scarce components, and a shift towards higher-priced configurations.

This downward trend in PC shipments was observed across all of the top six worldwide PC vendors, with Lenovo, the market leader, experiencing a 22.4% year-over-year decline in shipments. Lenovo's supply chain scale and diversified AI and infrastructure portfolio helped it maintain its competitive edge. Apple, on the other hand, recorded the lowest shipment decline among the top six vendors and managed to gain 1.7 percentage points of market share, largely due to its range of mainstream MacBooks.

The surge in DRAM costs, which increased five times year-over-year in the second quarter, played a significant role in pushing up component prices. This, in turn, compelled PC vendors to raise prices, making lower-cost devices less accessible to consumers. Consequently, businesses shifted their focus towards targeted investments such as workstations and AI PCs, rather than undertaking broad-based PC deployments.