According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Personal Computing Device (PC) shipments during the fourth quarter of 2024 grew 1.8% from the prior quarter with global volumes reaching 68.9 million shipments. For the full year, PC vendors shipped 262.7 million PCs, up 1% from 2023.
This growth follows four-quarters of year-over-year growth, but analysts maintain that the market is still on track for recovery. The moderate decline is largely attributed to unfulfilled demand for AI-enabled PCs and slower-than-expected upgrades ahead of the end of Windows 10 support in 2025.
“Beyond that, the US and some European countries also showed strong performance due to end-of-year sale promotions, as well as enterprises continuing on the path of upgrading hardware before the end of support for Windows 10 which is scheduled for October 2025”, said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.
According to the IDC, approaching administration change in the US along with the threat of new and increased tariffs have also elevated the level of concern across the industry, with some brands looking to get ahead of what is essentially uncertainty.

Supply-side research showed some pull-in during December, largely from those brands that have limited manufacturing capacity outside of China. Presumably as a preventive measure around US tariffs on goods made in China. However, so far this movement has been relatively minimal.
“Though the market has been experiencing a slower return to growth, there was some room for optimism in Q4 as government subsidies in China led to better than expected performance within the consumer segment,” Ubrani added.
The report shows that Lenovo topped the global shipment tab with over 16 million units of sales to claim about 25% of the total market share. HP and Dell followed with 19% and 14% of the market share respectively. Overall, HP and Dell have maintained strong competitive positions, though Dell’s resurgence points to better alignment with sector-specific demand.
Dell’s performance had been impacted earlier by cautious enterprise spending and weakened demand. However, its enterprise solutions and public sector offerings helped it rebound as those sectors picked up in the latest quarter.
Apple experienced a significant drop in its share of the market to 10% from 15% in Q3 2024.
Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Traditional PC Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q4 2024 (Preliminary results, shipments are in millions of units) | |||||
Company | 4Q24 Shipments | 4Q24 Market Share | 4Q23 Shipments | 4Q23 Market Share | 4Q24/4Q23 Growth |
1. Lenovo | 16.9 | 24.5% | 16.1 | 23.8% | 4.8% |
2. HP Inc | 13.7 | 19.9% | 14.0 | 20.6% | -1.7% |
3. Dell Technologies | 9.9 | 14.4% | 9.9 | 14.6% | -0.2% |
4. Apple | 7.0 | 10.1% | 5.9 | 8.8% | 17.3% |
5. ASUS | 4.7 | 6.9% | 4.2 | 6.3% | 11.7% |
Others | 16.7 | 24.2% | 17.5 | 25.9% | -4.8% |
Total | 68.9 | 100.0% | 67.7 | 100.0% | 1.8% |
Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, January 9, 2024 |
Read also: The global PC market shows signs of recovery despite 1.3% decline in Q3 2024
PC sales: What happened in Q3 2024?
Global PC shipments totalled 62.9 million units in the third quarter of 2024, a 1.3% decline from the same period in 2023.
The decline in demand for PCs is mainly due to two factors. First, there has been a gap between the anticipated and actual demand for AI-enabled PCs, as consumers have yet to embrace this new technology. Second, the expected surge in PC upgrades ahead of the 2025 end of Windows 10 support has been slower than projected, with many users postponing their purchases.
While the AI revolution in PCs, including those running on Arm and x86 architectures, has sparked interest, data indicates that it has not yet materialised in significant demand.


A comparison of the sales data in 2024 versus 2023 shows that Dell Technologies is the only brand among the top five that experienced negative growth within the one year in review. Dell’s performance had been impacted earlier by cautious enterprise spending and weakened demand.
However, its enterprise solutions and public sector offerings helped it rebound as those sectors picked up in the latest quarter.
Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Traditional PC Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, 2024 vs. 2023 (Preliminary results, shipments are in millions of units) | |||||
Company | 2024 Shipments | 2024 Market Share | 2023 Shipments | 2023 Market Share | 2024/2023 Growth |
1. Lenovo | 61.8 | 23.5% | 59.1 | 22.7% | 4.7% |
2. HP Inc. | 53.0 | 20.2% | 52.9 | 20.3% | 0.1% |
3. Dell Technologies | 39.1 | 14.9% | 40.0 | 15.4% | -2.2% |
4. Apple | 22.9 | 8.7% | 21.9 | 8.4% | 4.5% |
5. Asus | 17.9 | 6.8% | 16.8 | 6.5% | 6.4% |
Others | 68.0 | 25.9% | 69.5 | 26.7% | -2.1% |
Total | 262.7 | 100.0% | 260.2 | 100.0% | 1.0% |
Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, January 9, 2024 |
Looking ahead, the global PC market is expected to see renewed growth in 2025. The Windows 10 end-of-support deadline is projected to trigger a significant refresh cycle, as businesses and consumers upgrade to Windows 11 or AI-enabled PCs.