Gartner Says PC Slump Continues: The Top Winners And Losers?

PC Shipments Are Down, But It Could Have Been Worse

On Wednesday, Gartner reported the PC industry has seen a steady decline in PC shipments for the past six quarters. In the third quarter, PC shipments totaled 80.5 million units, representing an 8.6 percent decline from the year prior.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The good news is, according to Gartner, modest to flat growth among top PC makers sure beats past double-digit declines. Gartner suggests PC makers are getting closer to finding the bottom of the market, and where they stand in a mobile-dominated world of tablets and smartphones.

On Wednesday, Gartner competitor IDC also released third-quarter PC industry numbers. Its winners, losers and takeaways differ slightly.

Here is a look at the ups, downs, and twists and turns the PC industry took in the third quarter of 2013, according to Gartner.

And The Top Four Worldwide PC Makers For 3Q 13 Are...

1. Lenovo shipped 14,154,355 PCs, a 2.8 percent increase from the year prior.

2. Hewlett-Packard shipped 13,732,398 PCs, improving upon the previous year by 1.5 percent.

3. Dell saw a 1 percent increase in the number of PCs shipped, with 9,306,202 units.

4. Acer shipped 6,666,789 PCs, experiencing a decline of 22.6 percent.

The top four PC makers listed here represent 54.6 percent of the PC market, that's up from 51.4 percent the same time last year, according to Gartner.

Biggest Winners...

According to Gartner, HP and Lenovo have been virtually neck and neck for the top global position in the PC market. Last quarter, Lenovo pulled ahead of HP, owning 17.7 percent of the PC market compared to 17.1 percent for HP.

HP had a good quarter, reporting growth for the first time since the first quarter 2012. Overall, HP's growth exceeded the average growth of its competitors. Dell also beat the industry average with PC shipments exceeding growth-rate averages.

Biggest Losers...

Acer and Asus took the hardest hits this quarter as both experienced double-digit shipment declines. That's due, in large part, according to Gartner, to two reasons. One, the consumer-focused PC makers were hit by a slump in consumer PC sales in all parts of the world. Two, both companies are in a transition period, moving away from PC manufacturing and scaling up production of tablets.

Acer's shipments declined 22.6 percent compared with a year ago. Asus saw PC shipments decline 22.5 percent.

Back-To-School Blues...

A weak market for back-to-school PCs hurt all vendors, according to Gartner.

"The third quarter is often referred to as the 'back-to-school' quarter for PC sales, and sales this quarter dropped to their lowest volume since 2008," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, in a prepared statement.

Tablet Blame Game

It comes as no surprise that tablets were to blame for much of what ails the sagging PC sector. Gartner analyst Kitagawa summed up the tablet's impact this way:

"Consumers' shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs, both in mature as well as in emerging markets. A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets."

And Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner, said, "Many PC vendors also introduced Android tablets as a main part of their portfolios, and this initiative drove PC sales downward."

Spotlight U.S. Market

The U.S. market experienced positive growth, Gartner said. PC shipments totaled 16.1 million units in the third quarter of 2013, a 3.5 percent increase from the same period last year. That's the second consecutive quarter of shipment growth after six quarters of decline, Gartner said.

Gartner credits a number of things for the positive growth in the U.S. market, including low inventory from the first half of 2013. Also a factor in boosting U.S. sales is the introduction of new PC form factors with Intel's Haswell processors, which piqued consumer interest.

Europe, The Middle East And Africa

PC sales outside the U.S. took the biggest hit, Gartner said.

PC sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw a 13.7 percent decline in shipments during the third quarter of 2013, compared to the year prior. That marks the sixth consecutive quarter of decreasing PC shipments for those regions, Gartner said.

"During the third quarter, many vendors went through product transitions to Intel's new Haswell and Bay Trail processors, while preparing for the October launch of Windows 8.1. These product transitions -- and the clearing of old inventory that is taking place through the third and fourth quarters of 2013 -- have played a part in the slowdown of the PC market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa," said Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner.

In Eastern Europe, the growing economic concerns in Russia over a slowdown in GDP led to weaker consumer confidence and more cautious spending on devices in this third quarter, said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "The demand for PCs in the Middle East and Africa also continued to slow as tablet adoption increased -- particularly in the Middle East."

Spotlight On Asia Pacific

The Asia Pacific market continues to be a challenging one for PC makers, Gartner said. In Asia Pacific, PC shipments were at 28.1 million units in the third quarter of 2013, an 11.2 percent decline from the third quarter of 2012. Gartner said that the region's currency volatility hampered PC sales in key emerging markets such as India and Indonesia.

The Worst May Be Behind Us

Despite the doom and gloom, Gartner offered up hope for the PC industry.

Gartner analyst Kitagawa said that the "U.S. market may have passed the worst declining stage, which started in 2010. The shrinking installed base of PCs has also passed the steepest decline."

Looking to the U.S. market, Kitagawa said, tablets will continue to impact the PC market, but the PC market will see a "more moderate decrease rather than a steep decline in the next two years."

Gartner also pointed out there are fewer reasons now to put off buying a new PC, and that could stem some of the PC market bleeding.