Overview
- Two market trackers reported year‑over‑year shipment declines for Q2 2026, with IDC at 68.2 million units (‑4.9%) and Omdia at 65.7 million units (‑3.6%).
- Both firms point to sharp cost increases for memory (DRAM) and NAND as key drivers of higher PC prices, and Omdia also flagged rising MLCC and PCB costs as broader supply‑side pressure.
- IDC said vendors raised prices faster than sales fell, creating a 'volume down, revenue up' pattern that has left manufacturers and channel partners holding higher‑priced inventory.
- Apple bucked the decline with double‑digit shipment gains tied in part to strong demand for new MacBook models, while Lenovo, HP and Dell all saw lower volumes.
- Channel surveys show many business customers delaying or cancelling refreshes because of price uncertainty, a shift that analysts warn could keep demand soft into H2 2026 and force further price moves into 2027.