Global personal computer shipments fell 21.2 percent year-over-year in Q3 2026 to 58.1 million units, marking the steepest decline since Q1 2023, according to Omdia. Desktop shipments dropped 23.5 percent to 11.7 million units, while laptop shipments declined 20.6 percent to 46.4 million units.
IDC reported similar weakness: PC shipments fell 20.1 percent year-over-year to 62.7 million units, compared with 78.5 million in Q3 2025—the largest third-quarter decline IDC has ever recorded. The quarter also saw a 9.1 percent sequential drop from Q2 2026.
The root cause is structural: Since 2025, a surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM from AI workloads has strangled manufacturing capacity for consumer devices. Memory and storage now represent nearly 40 percent of a PC's bill of materials, up from a historical 15 percent. PC prices have increased more than fourfold due to component shortages, according to Ben Yeh, principal analyst at Omdia.
Vendors and original design manufacturers anticipated memory price hikes and began stocking inventory in early 2026, creating an oversupply. By Q3, with elevated prices suppressing demand, channel partners faced excess inventory they now must carry into a market that shows no near-term price relief. Jitesh Ubrani, research director for consumer devices at IDC, said that while promotions may offer temporary discounts, pricing will remain elevated. IDC expects only modest, brief price declines.
On the supply side, vendors and ODM partners began reducing production in Q3 as inventory bloat became apparent. The combination of oversupply and price-resistance from consumers and enterprises created a perfect margin squeeze: neither volumes nor pricing power can recover until memory capacity normalizes. Macroeconomic softness poses further downside risk to near-term demand.
