Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Grew More Than 13 Percent in Second Quarter of 2004
STAMFORD, Conn., July 15, 2004 — Replacement PC purchases remained the key engine of growth for the industry, as worldwide PC shipments totaled 43 million units in the second quarter of 2004, a 13.3 percent increase over the same period last year, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
"The PC market performed in line with expectations during the second quarter of 2004, exhibiting typical seasonal user demand patterns," said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "The professional market is crucial to the second quarter?s overall results. While early software and storage segment results have shown some weakness relative to industry expectations, the professional PC market was on track."
On a vendor basis, Dell retained its No. 1 position in both the worldwide and U.S. PC markets in the second quarter of 2004 (see Tables 1 and 2). Dell experienced double-digit growth across all regions. Due to the typical second-quarter performance, Dell's corporate and public sector business grew relatively faster than the home market.
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q04 (Thousands of Units)
Company
2Q04 Shipments
2Q04 Market Share (%)
2Q03 Shipments
2Q03 Market Share (%)
2Q03-2Q04 Growth (%)
Dell
7,080
16.5
5,781
15.3
22.5
Hewlett-Packard
6,130
14.3
5,306
14.0
15.5
IBM
2,535
5.9
2,157
5.7
17.5
Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens
1,506
3.5
1,265
3.3
19.0
Acer
1,302
3.0
995
2.6
30.9
Others
24,249
56.7
22,270
59.0
8.9
Total
42,802
100.0
37,774
100.0
13.3
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and X86-32 servers. Fujitsu and Fujitsu Siemens are reported as one company.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (July 2004)
Hewlett-Packard's worldwide year-on-year growth was slightly above industry average, as it showed the strongest growth in Asia/Pacific, including Japan. An internal re-organization at HP during the quarter is likely to have had some impact on the company's performance.
In the United States, PC shipments totaled 14 million units in the second quarter of 2004, an 11.4 percent increase from the second quarter of 2003 (see Table 2). Gartner analysts said the U.S. PC industry's growth was attributed to healthy sales in the professional market.
"Gartner's IT Watch (a monthly survey among IT decision managers in U.S. businesses) shows that U.S. corporate sentiment towards PC hardware spending remained positive during the quarter, with companies spending to budget," Mr. Smulders said.
Table 2
Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q04 (Thousands of Units)
Company
2Q04 Shipments
2Q04 Market Share (%)
2Q03 Shipments
2Q03 Market Share (%)
2Q03-2Q04 Growth (%)
Dell
4,295
29.5
3,699
28.3
16.1
Hewlett-Packard
2,539
17.4
2,260
17.3
12.4
Gateway
1,065
7.3
842
6.4
26.5
IBM
740
5.1
687
5.3
7.8
Apple Computer
505
3.5
458
3.5
10.3
Others
5,407
37.2
5,114
39.2
5.7
Total
14,551
100.0
13,060
100.0
11.4
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and X86-32 servers. Gateway and eMachines are reported as one company.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (July 2004)
On a regional basis, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region experienced a PC shipment increase of 15.5 percent in the second quarter. Gartner analysts said business demand for PCs appears to have been strong despite the increase in the dollar value against the Euro. Some significant government deals also drove the increase in overall demand in the region.
All countries in the Asia/Pacific region, with the exception of South Korea, are expected to show positive year-on-year growth performance this quarter. The PC market in Japan experienced a slight increase in shipments, however, the market performed below forecast expectations because of slower-than-expected sales in the home market.
Preliminary Latin American PC shipment results for the second quarter of 2004, show the region experienced a shipment increase of more than 25 percent. The consumer segment continued to grow in the region as desktop prices, particularly for generic machines, continued to decline.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. To subscribe to this program, please call 408-468-8000. Additional research can be found on Gartner's on Gartner's Web site at Client Platforms Focus Area.
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