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January 12, 2011, 7:19 PM EST
By Aaron Ricadela
(Adds analyst’s comment in the fourth paragraph.)
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Global personal-computer shipments rose 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter, missing projections, as consumers held back on holiday purchases and chose Apple Inc. iPads over desktops and notebooks, IDC said.
Hewlett-Packard Co. retained the industry’s top spot, even though its market share dropped 0.7 of a percentage point to 19.5 percent from a year earlier, IDC said today in a statement. Dell Inc. was second with 12.1 percent, and Acer Inc. was third with 10.6 percent.
David Daoud, an analyst at IDC, said the research firm had projected worldwide shipments growth of 5.5 percent. U.S. consumers were reluctant to buy new PCs as they waited for clearer signs of an economic recovery and because their current machines are good enough for most tasks, he said.
“The consumer market is the one that’s feeling fatigue,” Daoud said in an interview. PC shipments in the U.S. fell 4.8 percent in the quarter, according to the Framingham, Massachusetts-based firm.
The iPad tablet computer has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional PCs, Daoud said. Apple had sold 7.5 million iPads as of Sept. 25 and will provide an update on sales when it reports fiscal first-quarter earnings next week.
“The iPad has put a big dent in the market,” he said.
Worldwide fourth-quarter PC shipments totaled 92.1 million in the fourth quarter and 346.2 million for the year, an increase of 13.6 percent from 2009, IDC said.
Gartner’s Numbers
Another research firm, Gartner Inc., put fourth-quarter PC shipments at 93.5 million, a 3.1 percent increase from a year earlier. Gartner had forecast 4.8 percent growth. Sales of tablet computers and video-game consoles provided alternatives for consumers, Gartner said.
Gartner said Palo Alto, California-based HP was the top PC supplier worldwide, with 18.8 percent of the market. Its share declined from 19.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Acer was second with 12.7 percent share, followed by Dell with 11.6 percent of the market, according to Gartner.
Both IDC and Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner said businesses continue to replace older PCs with newer machines running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 operating system.
The trend benefitted Dell, which surpassed Acer as the second-largest global supplier in IDC’s numbers. Acer’s shipments declined 15 percent in the fourth quarter. Its sales were affected by diminished demand for netbooks, Daoud said.
Rounding out the top five, Lenovo Group Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. both gained market share from a year ago.
--Editors: Lisa Wolfson, Jillian Ward
To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Ricadela in San Francisco at aricadela@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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(Adds analyst’s comment in the fourth paragraph.)
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Global personal-computer shipments rose 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter, missing projections, as consumers held back on holiday purchases and chose Apple Inc. iPads over desktops and notebooks, IDC said.
Hewlett-Packard Co. retained the industry’s top spot, even though its market share dropped 0.7 of a percentage point to 19.5 percent from a year earlier, IDC said today in a statement. Dell Inc. was second with 12.1 percent, and Acer Inc. was third with 10.6 percent.
David Daoud, an analyst at IDC, said the research firm had projected worldwide shipments growth of 5.5 percent. U.S. consumers were reluctant to buy new PCs as they waited for clearer signs of an economic recovery and because their current machines are good enough for most tasks, he said.
“The consumer market is the one that’s feeling fatigue,” Daoud said in an interview. PC shipments in the U.S. fell 4.8 percent in the quarter, according to the Framingham, Massachusetts-based firm.
The iPad tablet computer has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional PCs, Daoud said. Apple had sold 7.5 million iPads as of Sept. 25 and will provide an update on sales when it reports fiscal first-quarter earnings next week.
“The iPad has put a big dent in the market,” he said.
Worldwide fourth-quarter PC shipments totaled 92.1 million in the fourth quarter and 346.2 million for the year, an increase of 13.6 percent from 2009, IDC said.
Gartner’s Numbers
Another research firm, Gartner Inc., put fourth-quarter PC shipments at 93.5 million, a 3.1 percent increase from a year earlier. Gartner had forecast 4.8 percent growth. Sales of tablet computers and video-game consoles provided alternatives for consumers, Gartner said.
Gartner said Palo Alto, California-based HP was the top PC supplier worldwide, with 18.8 percent of the market. Its share declined from 19.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Acer was second with 12.7 percent share, followed by Dell with 11.6 percent of the market, according to Gartner.
Both IDC and Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner said businesses continue to replace older PCs with newer machines running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 operating system.
The trend benefitted Dell, which surpassed Acer as the second-largest global supplier in IDC’s numbers. Acer’s shipments declined 15 percent in the fourth quarter. Its sales were affected by diminished demand for netbooks, Daoud said.
Rounding out the top five, Lenovo Group Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. both gained market share from a year ago.
--Editors: Lisa Wolfson, Jillian Ward
To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Ricadela in San Francisco at aricadela@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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