Global PC Shipments Fall 20 Percent in Q3 2026 as Memory Prices Bite, IDC and Omdia Say

Global PC shipments fell by about a fifth in the third quarter of 2026, according to two market trackers, and both expect the weakness to continue. IDC counts 62.7 million units shipped, down 20.1 percent from 78.5 million a year earlier, while Omdia reports a drop of 21.2 percent (Windows Central, TweakTown).

What the trackers counted

IDC's preliminary figure is also a 9.1 percent decline from the second quarter, which stands out because the third quarter normally beats the second. IDC had already recorded its first PC shipment decline in nine quarters in July and cut its forecast for the year.

Omdia's data, reported by Windows Central, splits the drop by product type: desktop shipments fell 23.5 percent and laptops fell 20.6 percent. The figures in this article are preliminary and come from press coverage of the trackers' releases, which agree on the headline numbers.

Who lost the most

Every major vendor shipped fewer PCs, but not equally. Lenovo stayed the market leader with a 23.8 percent share, and HP ranked second with 10.3 million units, ahead of Dell at 7.6 million (Club386).

Vendor	Change year on year (IDC)	Omdia
HP	-30.9%	-31%
Dell	-25%	Not reported
Lenovo	-22.6%	-22.9%
Apple	-11.3%	Not reported
ASUS	-8.6%	Not reported
All others	-14%	Not reported
Total market	-20.1% (62.7 million units)	-21.2%

Apple's result follows a strong second quarter. Windows Central credits that earlier growth to the MacBook Neo and says Apple dropped back in the third quarter. HP, Dell and Lenovo, which sell the most mainstream Windows laptops and business desktops, took the hardest hits.

Why shipments fell

Analysts point to two causes that fed each other. The first is timing. Vendors and sales channels bought stock early in the year, which IDC research director Jitesh Ubrani called a "strong first half pull-in" that has "thrown off the usual seasonality." Windows Central reports that shipments rose 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, helped by panic buying, Windows 10 upgrades and vendor stockpiling, before falling in the second. Omdia's Ishan Dutt said pull-forward activity buoyed the first half and that the third-quarter drop "comes as no surprise."

The second cause is price. Shortages of memory and storage have pushed PC prices beyond what many buyers will pay, and IDC blames supply issues and elevated prices tied to the memory shortage (ProPakistani). The same shortage helped Samsung, one of the world's biggest memory makers, report a record preliminary operating profit of about 107.4 trillion won for the quarter. What is a windfall for chip makers is a cost problem for PC makers.

What IDC expects next

Ubrani's assessment is cautious. "Channels are now worried about carrying too much inventory into a market where high prices are suppressing demand," he said. IDC expects that worry to bring promotions and some short-term relief for buyers, but it does not expect prices anywhere near year-ago levels.

He also warned about the wider economy. "With macro conditions worsening, the risk is that the outlook for the next few quarters gets worse before it gets better," Ubrani said. Windows Central adds that the decline is expected to continue through the fourth quarter and beyond. Shipments are not the same as sales to consumers, so these figures measure what vendors sent into the channel.

What it means for buyers

The picture for shoppers is mixed. Discounts may appear as vendors clear stock, though the Windows Central writer says he cannot promise when. He also notes that laptops may be relatively affordable now compared with what they could cost later, because prices are not expected to return to last year's levels. Engadget's advice is blunter: take the deals that exist. It also reports IDC's view that anyone who can put off a major purchase might consider waiting at least another year, so the advice depends on how urgently a replacement is needed.

For manufacturers, the squeeze is harder. Shipping fewer units while paying more for memory is a poor combination, and neither tracker expects it to ease soon.

What to watch next

Watch Gartner's quarterly figures, which can differ from IDC's and Omdia's because the trackers count differently. Watch holiday-season discounts for signs that vendors will cut margins to clear inventory, and memory contract prices, since a fall there would be the clearest sign that PC prices can ease.

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