Global PC Shipments Deepen in 3Q | Biden News

Global PC shipments fell 15.5% year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter (Q3 2022) to reach 71.1 million units, registering another wave of huge YoY declines after the sharp annual and sequential drops in Q2, according to Counterpoint Technology. Market Research Data.

The decline from Q3 2022 was largely due to demand weakness across both consumer and business markets, which was primarily driven by global inflation. Despite component shortage issues largely resolved, OEMs and ODMs have a relatively conservative view of Q4 2022 and first half of 2023.

The lull in PC demand continued in the quarter despite broad promotional activities by major OEMs, particularly for consumer product lines. In addition, inventory digestion processes have been activated to address abnormally high levels as we enter the second half of the year. Although it is the season of peak sales of consumer devices, PC OEMs believe that the stock-out process will continue in 2023.

Based on Counterpoint’s conversations with supply chain members, particularly component suppliers, the largest inventory numbers were in Q3 2022 and will likely begin to decline in coming quarters but there is uncertainty within the supply chain as to when shipment growth will resume.

Global Computer Inventory Accumulation From 2022

Source: Counterpoint Research

A lack of consumer demand in the back-to-school season, shrinking business purchases due to economic uncertainty and increasing promotional events all created a push for Average Selling Price (ASP) growth and also impacted PC market revenue.

Apple reported market-beating 7% YoY shipment growth amid muted market momentum, thanks to its new product launch in late Q2 with shipments picking up after the Chinese blockades in Q2 that disrupted ODM production schedules. Meanwhile, Asus reported a 9% drop in shipments in the quarter, reflecting a relatively robust performance due to its enterprise-focused strategy, in line with the goal of managing an overwhelming shipment in 2022.

Lenovo booked a 16% YoY decline, largely in line with the global PC market, the weakness of consumer demand was partially offset by corporate spending. Its market share of 23.7% remains flat compared to last year, reflecting Lenovo’s strong positions to deal with a troubled market.

HP took 18% share in Q3 with 12.7 million unit shipments. This is HP’s second quarter of lower than 20% market share since 2016, largely due to its higher consumer mix, which meant it exited Q3 with a 26.5% YoY decline.

Dell also reported over 20% YoY shipment decline with and 17% market share. Its 12 million units were slightly higher than Q3 2020, just before Dell started to benefit from work style changes after the initial waves of COVID.

Global PC Shipment by Vendor, Q3 2022

Overall, global PC shipments in the second half of 2022 will still be comparatively higher than the level before the Covid outbreak. However, chip maker AMD has claimed that PC market weakness has already had a negative impact on its results and outlook; while the management of Taiwanese OEMs Acer and Asus, both shared their views that the PC industry will not recover until H2 2023.

Looking into 2023, the sky is still covered in dark clouds. We are also adjusting our 2022 shipment forecast to a 13% YoY decline on soft PC demand. Among all PC product segments, we believe that Arm-based PCs and gaming PCs are poised to weather the market downturn the best, with the help of Apple’s M-series offerings as well as increased R&D efforts by chipmakers and the broader ecosystem.