#pc-shipments

#pc-shipments

Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 23 percent. The holiday quarter saw PC shipments grow unexpectedly amid an ongoing RAM shortage. Microsoft's end of Windows 10 support helped push PC shipments up, but IDC revealed earlier this month that PC makers have also been aggressively pulling forward inventory to combat potential tariffs and ongoing global memory shortage.

Memory shortages will likely stunt PC shipments in 2026, as available supplies will not be able to meet demand thanks to memory makers chasing the lucrative AI infrastructure market instead. Overall PC market performance in 2025 was healthy, according to research biz Omdia, but it notes that memory and storage supply was already tightening, with associated upward price pressure emerging around the middle of last year.

"What we are witnessing here might highlight US PC demand slowing down in anticipation of the import tariffs looming deadline."

Consumers' appetite for big-ticket spending on PCs faces a number of downside risks. Although PCs currently remain exempt, broader tariffs impacting key spending categories have already resulted in inflationary pressure, with the Federal Reserve pausing its planned interest rate cuts in anticipation of further price rises in the remainder of the year.