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Analysts have Lenovo, HP neck-and-neck for PC shipment crown

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Horse RaceTop market analysis firms agree it was a photo finish in the horse race for the 2012 Q3 worldwide PC shipments crown. But IDC and Gartner paint a different picture on whose nose crossed the line first.

If you’re a big Lenovo shop, you’re probably going to go with Gartner’s numbers, which show Lenovo edging out HP in market share, 15.7 per cent to 15.5 per cent. But if your loyalties lie with HP, you may find IDC’s numbers, which show HP maintaining its crown with 15.9 per cent to Lenovo’s 15.7 per cent, more palatable.

However, the firms agree that the two vendors are fighting over a shrinking pie – with IDC figuring the overall PC market is down 8.6 per cent year-over-year, a marginally bleaker figure than Gartner’s estimates of an 8.3 per cent decline.

Some other notes from the two research firms’ respective notes:

  • Gartner notes that this is the first time since the third quarter of 2006 that a company other than HP has claimed its worldwide PC shipments crown.
  • Both firms agree it’s a two-horse race – Gartner has Dell in a distant third at 10.5 per cent, while IDC has them at 10.8 per cent. No other vendor garnered double-digit market share on a worldwide basis.
  • While Lenovo is showing strong growth at 9.8 per cent (IDC) or 10.2 per cent (Gartner), it’s not the only vendor growing. In fact, Asus showed nearly the same growth (10.0 per cent per Gartner) or better (11.8 per cent per IDC) as Lenovo.
  • While HP may continue to cling to the worldwide market share lead according to IDC, it agrees with Gartner that the company is struggling. Both firms have HP down 16.4 per cent year-over-year.
  • Dell isn’t faring much better in the PC business right now, down 14.0 per cent (IDC) or 13.7 per cent (Gartner) worldwide.
  • Lenovo’s ascension to the crown seems to be largely powered outside of the biggest personal computing market in the world. While Gartner says Lenovo is leading worldwide, it agrees that the company is in fourth place in the U.S.
  • However Lenovo is the only one of the top five U.S. vendors (HP, Dell, Apple, Lenovo, Acer) that is showing growth in the U.S., with growth in the States of either 8.9 per cent (IDC) or 8.3 per cent (Gartner).
  • IDC notes that Lenovo’s growth comes “despite slowing growth in Asia.