The top 10 largest computer companies continue to dominate the global personal computer (PC) market in 2020 due to their significant computer equipment shipments over the recent years. The latest market statistics indicate that global personal computer shipments grew about 0.6% from 259.7 million in 2018 to 261.2 million in 2019, while several largest computer companies, namely Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, Acer, and ASUS are leading the market. Together, these largest computer manufacturers account for over 81.3% of the total computer shipment around the world, and their market dominance is expected to continue over the future.
This industry fact sheet is to assist industry professionals, investors, and people in general that are interested in gaining insights into the global computer equipment industry including:
- How big is the global PC market?
- What are the driving factors for the global computer market?
- Who has the largest market share for personal computers?
- Who are the top 10 largest computer companies in the world?
- What are the future trends for the global computer industry?
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Global Personal Computer Market Overview 2020
According to the latest market report from Gartner, the global PC shipments totalled 261.2 million units in 2019, a 0.6% increase from 2018. This was the first time since 2011 that the global PC market shipment experienced growth. Garter reports that the recent PC market growth is mainly driven by vibrant business demand for Windows 10 upgrades, particularly in the U.S., EMEA and Japan. the top 3 largest computer companies, namely Lenovo, HP, and Dell, increased their combined market share through 2019 to the highest level. Together, Lenovo, HP, and Dell accounted for nearly 65% of PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2019, up from just more than 61% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Although personal computer has become one of the most essential equipment used in people’s daily life, the global personal computer market remains flat mainly due to the market saturation in most of the developed markets. As a result, the global personal computer shipment is expected decrease from 261.2 million units in 2019 to 221.8 million in 2025, representing a CAGR of -2.8% during the forecast period.
Over the recent years, several main driving factors are facilitating the global personal computer market, including growing Internet usage, rising incomes, growing computer education, and increasing urbanization with the evolution of consumers’ lifestyles. However, the consumers’ usage of applications such as e-mail, social media, and online shopping and online education have been increasingly shifting away from personal computers to other smart devices such as tablets and smartphones, which has formed some major challenges for the PC market growth.
Top 10 Largest Computer Companies in the World 2020
| Rank | Company | 2019 Shipments (million) | 2019 Market Share (%) | 2018 Shipments (million) | 2018 Market Share (%) | 2019 – 2018 Change (%) |
| 1 | Lenovo | 62.97 | 24.1% | 58.26 | 22.4% | 8.1% |
| 2 | HP | 57.92 | 22.2% | 56.26 | 21.7% | 3.0% |
| 3 | Dell | 43.96 | 16.8% | 41.79 | 16.1% | 5.2% |
| 4 | Apple | 18.35 | 7.0% | 18.52 | 7.1% | -0.9% |
| 5 | Acer | 14.76 | 5.7% | 15.73 | 6.1% | -6.1% |
| 6 | ASUS | 14.48 | 5.5% | 15.43 | 5.9% | -6.2% |
| – | Others | 48.80 | 18.7% | 53.79 | 20.7% | 0.6% |
| – | Total | 261.24 | 100% | 259.76 | 100% | 0.6% |
Source: Gartner
Other top 10 largest computer companies with market share less than 3%: Microsoft, Sharp, Samsung and MSI
1. Lenovo
Lenovo is the largest computer company in the world by market share. The Beijing-based company manufactures and sells Laptops, tablets, PCs, smart devices and solutions for data centre around the world. Business-oriented PCs are some of Lenovo’s most popular offerings, including its ThinkCentre desktops and ThinkPad notebooks, with a newer, sleeker ThinkBook line geared at small businesses. Desktop PCs and laptop series such as ThinkPad, ThinkBook, IdeaPad, Yoga, and Legion contributed to Lenovo’s record 62.97 million shipments in 2019, putting Lenovo at the very top of the industry.
2. HP
The Hewlett-Packard, known as HP, is an American multinational IT and electronics company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP’s sales are mostly generated from printers and popular personal computer models like Envy, Elitebook, Pavilion, Omen, and Pavilion Gaming. United States is HP’s largest regional market, where it holds almost 30% market share, HP is also the most popular laptop brand in North America.
3. Dell
Dell is a global leader in Laptops, Touch Screen PCs, Desktops, Servers, Storage, Monitors, Gaming equipment. Dell recorded its own record high for shipments and led the top OEMs with 10.7% year-over-year growth in 2020. The growth is mainly attributed to government contracts for notebooks in the United States and Canada mixed with strong commercial activity throughout North America and a few other important markets. Series like Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, and XPS are some of Dell’s best-selling computer products around the world.
4. Apple
Apple Inc. is a world-leading technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The innovative design and superior computing power have always made Apple one of the world’s most popular computer brands. Its iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are some of the best-selling personal computer products and are widely favoured by video and audio professionals around the world.
5. Acer
Acer Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation, specialized in manufacturing and selling laptop and desktop PCs, tablets, smartphones, monitors, projectors and cloud solutions for home users, business and government customers. North America and Japan are two of the largest regional markets for Acer’s personal computer products. In 2019, Acer shipped total 14.76 million computers around the world, making it one of the top 10 largest computer companies in the world.
6. ASUS
ASUS Inc. is a Taiwan-based multinational computer and phone hardware and electronics company that specialises in providing personal computers, monitors, graphics cards, routers and other technology solutions. ASUS’ laptop sales with series like Chromebook Flip, ZenBook, Vivo, Republic of Gamers, and TUF Gaming are help ASUS ranking as one of the world’s largest computer manufacturers in 2020
7. Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It is one of the global leaders in software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related IT services industries. Despite being one of the world’s top tech and software companies, Microsoft is also an important player in the global laptop market with its line of Surface devices. Some of Microsoft’s most popular PC products include Surface Pro 6, Surface Go, Surface Book 2, Surface Laptop 2, and its only desktop PC Surface Studio 2.
8. Toshiba
Toshiba is a world’s leading electronics manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. Its core business includes manufacturing and selling information technology and communications equipment and systems, electronic components and materials, power systems, industrial and social infrastructure systems, consumer electronics, home appliances, medical equipment, office equipment, etc. The company’s Toshiba Dynabook computer range has a long history to be one of the most popular PC products in the market. In 2018, Toshiba sold its PC business to Sharp.
9. Samsung
Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate that is well-known for offering wide range of home electronics with cutting-edge technologies including TVs, smartphones, tablets, home appliances. With its innovative wireless and QLED screen technologies, Samsung’s Galaxy Laptops as well as its Windows and Chrome PC products account for a fair amount of share in the global personal computer market.
10. MSI
Micro-Star International Co., Ltd (MSI) is a multinational electronics and technology company based in Taiwan. It is one of the world’s leading manufacturers for laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, All-in-One PCs, servers, industrial computers, PC peripherals, and car infotainment products. Over the recent years, MSI has established its reputation in computer gaming and eSports industries as its gaming PC series such as GT Titan, GS Stealth, GE Raider and GP Leopard etc are favoured by gamers around the world.
Global Personal Computer Market Trends for Future
The constant launch of the new PC products powered by increasing technological innovations has become one of the major PC market trends that has been observed over the recent years. For example, the introduction of new ultraportable thin laptops and all-in-one PCs with touchscreen that save space and enable users to manage their workloads and information more efficiently are becoming some of the best selling products in the global personal computer market. Meanwhile, many world’s largest computer companies are also increasingly shifting their business focus towards software and gaming industry. For example, Dell is moving its business focus to enterprise software and cloud solutions; HP is focusing on developing its premium devices for gaming ecosystems; Lenovo’s shifting its PC hardware business towards corporate solutions and VR technologies.
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