Strong Performance with Underlying Concerns — The PC Market Enters a Turbulent 2025

According to the latest preliminary results from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, global personal computer (PC) shipments grew by 4.9% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 63.2 million units. Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, the PC industry faces both favorable and unfavorable factors, making the outlook challenging and demand planning difficult.

Jean Philippe Bouchard, Vice President of IDC’s Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, stated:

“As both vendors and end users prepared for the impact of U.S. tariffs, the market experienced a certain level of pull-in during the first quarter. With the initial stages still relatively unaffected by tariffs, the entire ecosystem tried to accelerate shipments to avoid the impact of the first round of tariffs and expected volatility later in the year. Clearly, commercial demand remained strong in Q1, but the new round of tariffs announced by the U.S. on April 2 could have a direct inflationary impact on the PC market, possibly delaying IT spending for the remainder of the year.”

As reflected in the Q1 2025 shipment numbers, most underlying demand drivers for PCs—such as device refresh cycles ahead of the Windows 10 end-of-support deadline and increasing interest in on-device AI—remain strong. However, uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs, related inflationary pressures, and risks of a global economic slowdown are expected to negatively affect PC demand in the upcoming quarters of 2025.

Ryan Reith, Group Vice President of IDC’s Worldwide Device Trackers, commented:

“While many are still digesting the details of the April 2 tariff announcement, one thing is clear—most are re-evaluating their strategies for the coming months. So far, our supply chain checks have not indicated any dramatic shifts, which is not surprising given the current unpredictability. Businesses are undoubtedly assessing all variables, including inventory levels, manufacturing capacity across different regions, the possibility of rerouting logistics to reduce import duties, and even the status of negotiations with the U.S. government. For PCs and similar hardware products, we continue to believe that most of the increased costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers.”

Notes:

• When the difference between vendors falls within the statistical margin of error, IDC declares a statistical tie: this occurs when the market share difference between two or more vendors is 0.1% or less.

• Traditional PCs include desktops, notebooks, and workstations, and exclude tablets and x86 servers. Detachable tablets and slates are part of IDC’s Personal Computing Device Tracker but are not included in this press release.

• Shipments refer to units delivered to distribution channels or end users. Sales are attributed to the company/brand under which the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sells the product.