Apple gained ground in the PC market even as global shipments fell for the first time in more than two years, as the Mac outperformed a market squeezed by rising memory costs.
Worldwide PC shipments fell 4.9% year over year to 68.2 million units in the second quarter, ending nine straight quarters of growth. A persistent memory shortage prompted manufacturers to build inventory ahead of tighter supplies.
Rising component costs also pushed PC makers to raise prices for customers. An estimated 6.7 million Macs shipped during the quarter, increasing Apple's shipments 10.1% year over year and lifting its PC market share from 8.5% to 9.9%.
Lenovo, HP, and Dell all posted shipment declines during the same period. Apple was the only one of the top four PC vendors to deliver a meaningful year-over-year shipment increase even after raising Mac prices alongside the rest of the industry as memory costs climbed.
Worldwide PC shipments fell 4.9% year over year to 68.2 million units. Image credit: IDCMarch's MacBook Neo launch coincided with Apple's gains. Apple also raised Mac prices as memory costs increased, yet demand remained strong enough for shipments and market share to grow.
Scale across the iPhone, Mac, and other hardware businesses gave Apple an advantage securing limited memory supplies during the shortage.
Greater access to memory supplies helped Apple increase Mac shipments and market share while much of the PC industry lost ground during the quarter. Strong demand for the MacBook Neo and the broader Mac lineup positioned the company to benefit as memory supplies tightened.
Higher prices are masking a weaker PC market
Falling shipments tell only part of the story. PC revenue continued climbing because manufacturers raised prices faster than demand weakened, offsetting much of the decline in unit sales.
The current quarter may also mark Apple's high-water point. Apple's recent price increases in late-June will likely have an impact.
This round of higher PC prices may become harder to maintain as retailers work through inventory purchased at today's higher component costs, with the commodity RAM and SSD pricing situation only getting worse. IDC Research Director Jitesh Ubrani expects the memory shortage to continue until early 2028.
PC shipments. Image credit: IDCPC market growth is expected to slow further in the second half of 2026 as vendors sell through existing inventory and prepare for additional memory price increases in 2027.
Apple and other large hardware companies have the purchasing power and supplier relationships to secure memory chips more effectively than smaller rivals. Smaller PC makers face tighter supplies, higher costs, and growing pressure on their margins.