Bottom line: Some were predicting a downturn for the PC industry due to Intel's CPU shortage and the US-China trade war but as Gartner highlights, neither has had a major impact on global PC shipments. In fact, Intel's shortage may have helped as it lowered DRAM and SSD prices, resulting in improved profit margins for PC makers.
Neither Intel's CPU shortage nor the US-China trade war had a meaningful impact on global PC shipments during the third quarter. According to preliminary results from research and advisory firm Gartner, worldwide PC shipments grew 1.1 percent in the last three months to 68 million units.
During the same period a year ago, shipments totaled 67 million units.
Mikako Kitagawa, senior principal research analyst at Gartner, said the Windows 10 refresh cycle was the primary driver of growth across all regions although its impact varied based on local market conditions. In Japan, for example, shipments grew an impressive 55 percent, thanks in part to the aforementioned refresh cycle and a pending sales tax change.
Each of the three leading PC vendors - Lenovo, HP Inc. and Dell - saw shipments increase year-over-year with growth of 5.8 percent, 4.6 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. They also realized improved profit margins thanks to cheaper component costs - namely, more affordable DRAM and SSDs.
Lenovo narrowly edged out HP Inc. with a market share of 24.7 percent versus HP's 22.4 percent. The next closest competitor was Dell with a 16.6 percent share followed by Apple at 7.5 percent.
Microsoft wasn't featured in the top six as it currently ranks as the number seven vendor worldwide according to Gartner.
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