Global PC shipments up 4.8 pc at 59 million units in Jan-March

US PC shipments grew 12.6 per cent, reaching 16 million units in the first quarter of 2025, according to preliminary results by Gartner.

“The growth in the PC market in the first quarter of 2025 was driven by the surge in shipments in two key markets, the US and Japan, but for different underlying reasons,” said Rishi Padhi, Research Principal at Gartner.

The PC market in the US experienced a surge in shipments as vendors increased inventory in anticipation of tariff announcements, resulting in 12.6 per cent year-over-year growth.

Despite this increase and the subsequent strong topline growth, underlying end-user demand remained cautious, even with the added boost from enterprises upgrading PCs for Windows 11, Padhi noted.

In Japan, strong business PC demand driven by Windows 11 replacements, coupled with the adoption of Chromebooks, significantly contributed to shipment growth of 15.6 per cent.

Padhi further stated that vendors participating in the GIGA education Chromebook replacement programme capitalised on this opportunity by offering upgrades to older devices, thereby sustaining momentum in the market.

According to the Gartner findings, there were no major changes in the top six vendor rankings worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

In worldwide PC shipments, Lenovo had the strongest growth rate among the top six vendors at 9.6 per cent year-over-year, while Acer experienced the slowest growth at 1.9 per cent.

Moreover, In the US market, HP was in the top spot with 25.1 per cent market share, followed by Dell with 23.9 per cent of the market, the report noted.

The report mentioned that Windows 11 upgrades and increased inventory to pre-empt US tariff impacts fuelled PC growth.