IDC: Top 5 Best-Selling PC Brands In Q3

Improving Despite A Decline

Global PC sales in the third quarter totaled over 78.5 million units, a decline of 1.7 percent from the year-ago quarter, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

IDC said the slight decline represents a "sizable improvement" over the research firm's originally forecasted 4.1 percent decline.

Over 17.3 million PCs were sold in the United States during the third quarter, up 4.3 percent. Portable PCs built up a "strong momentum," growing 9 percent year-over-year, while desktop shipments were "sluggish" with negative growth.

IDC predicts a "healthy holiday season" for the U.S. PC market.

5. Apple

Apple hopped onto the top five list over ASUS by selling 4,982 units in the third quarter, for a market share of 6.3 percent.

The maker of the iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air saw year-over-year growth of 8.9 percent after selling nearly 5 million units during the quarter.

Apple's price cuts to the MacBook and iMac lines helped increase demand in mature markets, according to IDC.

Apple sold 2.2 million units in the U.S. during the third quarter, for 13 percent of the U.S. market share. This was good for a 9.3 percent year-over-year growth.

Apple is expected to announce a new iMac at an event Thursday.

4. Acer Group

Acer Group notched 11.4 percent year-over-year growth, selling over 6.6 million units worldwide, for a market share of 8.4 percent in the third quarter.

IDC attributed the growth "to low volume" last year in addition to the success of Chromebooks and entry-level notebooks.

In the United States, the Taiwanese company saw a 29.6 percent year-over-year growth selling over a million units.

3. Dell

Dell sold 10.4 million units worldwide during the third quarter, up 9.7 percent from the year-ago period and good for a 13.3 percent stake in the market.

IDC attributed the growth to strong notebook sales in the U.S. and Asia/Pacific markets, excluding Japan.

Dell sold 4.1 million units in the U.S. for a market share of 24 percent, and a year-over-year growth of 19.7 percent.

2. HP

Hewlett-Packard sold over 14.7 million units worldwide during the third quarter, for a market share of 18.8 percent. The company's quarterly sales represented a 5.1 percent increase from a year earlier.

European, Middle Eastern and African markets, in addition to mature markets, were the vendor's primary source of growth, IDC said. HP also had notable notebook shipments in the public sector towards the end of the quarter.

HP was the top PC vendor in the U.S. during the third quarter, selling over 4.8 million units in the states, for a market share of 27.7 percent. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's represented year-over-year growth of 8.3 percent in the U.S.

1. Lenovo

Lenovo continues to be the top PC vendor in the world. It had a market share of 20 percent in the third quarter and sold over 15.7 million units, up 11.2 percent from a year earlier.

Lenovo regained growth in Asia/Pacific markets, excluding Japan, and maintained a strong pace of expansion in European, Middle Eastern and African markets, IDC said.

In the United States, Lenovo sold over 1.8 million units for 10.7 percent of the market. The company's third-quarter U.S. sales reflect year-over-year growth of 7.6 percent.