IDC: PC Market Performed "Markedly Better" than Projected in Second Quarter

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

PC segment is starting to rebound

Earlier in the week, Gartner predicted a "revival" of the global PC market in 2014, and hot on the heels of that prediction, market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) reports that worldwide PC shipments totaled 74.4 million units in the second quarter of 2014. That represents a soft year-on-year decline of 1.7 percent, though that's "markedly better" than IDC's projected decline of 7.1 percent, the company said.
It's the smallest decline in global PC shipments since the second quarter of 2012 when a surge in tablet sales disrupted the market. However, there's evidence to suggest that consumers are content with their current tablet devices, while the end of Windows XP support is prompting traditional PC upgrades in mature markets. At the same time, IDC warns not to get too excited.
"The recent strength in mature regions is a positive sign," said Loren Loverde, Vice President, Worldwide PC Trackers. "However, an important part of this strength is driven by the rebound from weaker demand last year and to potentially short-term replacement activity. We can look for some recovery in emerging regions going forward, but it may coincide with slower growth in mature regions. We do not see the recent gains as a motive to raise the long-term outlook although 2014 growth could get closer to flat, rather than the May projection of -6 percent."
Lenovo increased its lead over HP as the No. 1 PC supplier and now holds a 19.6 percent share of the market, up from 16.7 percent in the same quarter a year ago, versus HP's 18.3 percent share, up from 16.4 percent last year. Dell is in third place with a 14 percent share, followed by Acer at 8.2 percent, Asus at 6.2 percent, and all others at 33.6 percent.
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