Global PC shipments increased 3.2% year-over-year in Q1 2026, driven by preemptive buying and the end of Windows 10 support, according to Counterpoint Research.
Sales reached 63.3 million units, primarily from five high-end manufacturers: Lenovo, ASUS, Apple, HP, and Dell. Despite this uptick, analysts predict challenging times lie ahead for the PC industry due to rising component costs fueled by demand for AI infrastructure.
Lenovo holds the largest market share at 26%. Apple’s PC sales grew by 11%, aided by updates to the M5 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, along with the introduction of the $600 MacBook Neo. Counterpoint Research anticipates further sales growth for Apple next quarter due to these updates. Conversely, HP reported a 5% decline in year-over-year sales.
Minsoo Kang, a Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, noted, “The aggressive expansion in AI infrastructure investment is driving up overall component costs, which will likely impact the pricing of CPUs and other key components in PCs.” He warned that heightened costs will likely result in increased retail prices, potentially stunting market growth in 2026.
IDC previously forecasted an 8.9% drop in PC shipments for 2026, later revising this estimate to 11.6% in March. Analysts highlight the current shortages of RAM and storage, cautioning that consumers may soon experience the effects of rising costs, as price increases are already occurring at a regular pace.
