Apple’s global personal computer shipments fell more than 40 percent in the first quarter of 2023 due weak demand, leading the decline in the overall market, according to a report by the International Data Corporation.
The IDC report attributed the decline in shipments of traditional PCs during the first three months of this year to weak demand, excess inventory, and a deteriorating macroeconomic climate. The research firm noted that global PC shipments totaled 56.9 million, a 29 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
The top five computer manufacturers including Apple, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo all experienced a significant drop in first-quarter shipments, indicating lower demand and ongoing inventory issues. However, Apple’s decline was the most significant among them.
The iPhone-maker, which offers a wide range of Mac desktops and MacBook laptops, experienced a decline in market share from 8.6 percent to 7.2 percent compared to the previous year.
Additionally, IDC reports that the company shipped 2.8 million fewer devices in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year.
Despite experiencing a decline in shipments by nearly a third to 12.7 million, Lenovo, the largest personal computer company worldwide, retained its lead. However, its market share also decreased from 22.8 percent to 22.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in the previous year.
Hewlett-Packard, a US-based company, held the second spot in terms of market share, with shipments of 12 million units, down by almost a quarter from the previous year. Nonetheless, its market share increased from 19.7 percent to 21.1 percent, making it the only major vendor to record growth in this category.
Dell observed a decline of almost 31 percent in shipments, amounting to 9.5 million units. Taiwan’s Asus completed the top five, with a decline of over 30 percent annually to 3.9 million shipments.
The remaining vendors accounted for 14.7 million units shipped in the first quarter, indicating a 26 percent decrease on an annual basis, and a market share of nearly 25 percent.
“Though channel inventory has depleted in the last few months, it’s still well above the healthy four-to-six week range,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager of the IDC’s mobility and consumer device trackers.
“Even with heavy discounting, channels and PC makers can expect elevated inventory to persist into the middle of the year and potentially into the third quarter.”
The preliminary results suggest that demand has decreased from the high Covid-era level, with a noticeably lower volume of shipments during the first quarter than the 60.6 million and 59.2 million units shipped in the same period in 2018 and 2019, respectively, as reported by the IDC.
