Global PC shipments dropped 21% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to a new report from Counterpoint Research. Apple fared better than most of the industry, with its MacBook Neo credited for softening the decline.
Counterpoint put total shipments for the quarter at 57 million units. Lenovo remained the largest vendor with a 26.3% share, even though its shipments fell 23% year over year.
HP ranked second with an 18.1% share, but its shipments declined 31%. Dell followed with a 13.3% share and a 25% drop. Apple came fourth with a 9.8% share after an 11% decline, and ASUS rounded out the top five with a 9.2% share and a 7% fall. All other vendors together held 23.3% of the market, with shipments down 16%.
Apple's shipments fell 11% to 5.6 million units. Because the rest of the market shrank faster, its share rose from 8.7% a year earlier to 9.8%. In its report, Counterpoint said, "The MacBook Neo helped cushion the decline, allowing Apple to outperform the overall market."
Minsoo Kang, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said Apple and ASUS outperformed the broader market "through differentiated product portfolios and competitive positioning."
Rising prices for memory and other components were a major factor behind the slump. Counterpoint said higher PC prices discouraged consumers from upgrading their devices and weakened demand across the industry.
The firm's data showed contract prices for 8GB DDR4 RAM modules climbed 24% from the previous quarter in the third quarter of 2026, while prices for 1TB NVMe SSDs rose 29%.
Counterpoint expects the cost pressure to continue. It forecasts RAM prices to increase another 13% in the fourth quarter and 15% in the first quarter of 2027. SSD prices are projected to rise 11% in the fourth quarter before stabilizing in early 2027.
