Despite seeing an 11% drop in Mac shipments during Q3 2026, Apple’s market share rose from 8.5% to 9.5%, as the broader market saw shipments plunge 20.1%, according to a new report from IDC. Here are the details.
Apple outperforms most of the PC market under challenging conditions
IDC today released a report on worldwide PC shipments for Q3 2026, noting that Apple significantly outperformed the broader market despite shipping fewer Macs than a year ago.
According to IDC’s preliminary data, Apple shipped 5.9 million Macs during Q3 2026, down 11.3% from 6.7 million in the year-ago period.
The overall PC market, however, fell much more sharply, with worldwide shipments dropping 20.1% year over year to 62.7 million units.
As a result, Apple’s share of worldwide PC shipments actually increased from 8.5% to 9.5%.
This kept Apple in fourth place, behind Lenovo, which topped the ranking with 14.9 million shipments and a 23.8% share, followed by HP with 10.3 million shipments and a 16.5% share, and Dell with 7.6 million shipments and a 12.1% share.
HP recorded the steepest year-over-year decline among the top five vendors, with shipments falling 30.9%. ASUS, meanwhile, saw the smallest decline, down 8.6% year over year, with 5.5 million shipments and an 8.7% share.
Vendors and channels bought inventory earlier in the year ahead of price hikes, pulling demand out of Q3. Combined with continued supply constraints, that left the quarter without its usual seasonal lift and pushed shipments below both Q2 and last year.
Looking ahead, IDC says that “channel concern over high inventory and soft demand at elevated prices could bring promotions in the near term,” adding that “pricing will stay well above year-ago levels.”
The firm also says that the economy has weakened since the previous quarter, which could further reduce demand and “darken the outlook for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.”
To read IDC’s full report, follow this link.
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