Worldwide PC Sales Surge in Third Quarter; Shipments Rose 15.7 Percent
Posted on: Thursday, 16 October 2003, 06:00 CDT
Oct. 16--Worldwide personal computer sales surged during the third quarter, suggesting a recovery in technology spending might already be under way.
Worldwide PC shipments rose 15.7 percent during the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago, according to research firm IDC.
It's the largest year-over-year increase since the third quarter of 2000, said Loren Loverde, a PC analyst for IDC.
Shipment growth was much higher than the 10.4 percent jump IDC was expecting.
Another research firm, Gartner Inc., put the figure closer to 14.1 percent but agreed that strong demand in notebook computers in the United States and Europe helped drive sales.
PC sales growth was much stronger than expected in the United States and Europe, at 16.1 percent and 17.5 percent respectively, according to IDC.
"The magnitude of growth in those two regions was the biggest surprise," Loverde said.
Round Rock-based Dell Inc. remained the world's largest PC maker, with 15.3 percent market share, according to Gartner.
Hewlett-Packard Co. was close behind with 15.1 percent.
Dell's overall shipment growth was 28.3 percent, just a smidgen ahead of rival H-P, which saw growth of 27.7 percent amid strong U.S. sales of notebook PCs, according to Gartner.
During the second quarter, Dell led H-P in shipments by 400,000 units, Gartner said.
During the third quarter, that lead dropped to less than 62,000.
"H-P had an amazing quarter, growing almost twice as fast as the market, and closing the gap significantly against Dell with strong consumer sales in desktops and notebooks, and another solid performance in the commercial arena," Jim McDonnell, vice president of the Personal Systems Group at H-P, said in a statement.
PC makers and vendors have been full of cheery news this week.
On Thursday, Apple Computer Inc. posted a $44 million profit amid strong demand for its iMac PC line and popular iPod digital music players. Shipments of iPods grew 140 percent during the quarter compared with last year.
On Tuesday, executives at chip giant Intel Corp. were almost giddy when they announced third-quarter sales far outpaced normal seasonal patterns.
Intel's third-quarter revenue increased 15 percent from the second quarter -- the highest sequential growth rate Intel has seen in more than 25 years, said Andy Bryant, the company's chief financial officer. Intel cited strong demand in emerging markets such as China for the improvement.
On Thursday, IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano agreed that it's too early to say a rebound has begun. But he said he thinks there are signs the economy has stabilized.
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