Major laptop and PC makers, including Lenovo, Dell, Apple, and Asus, increased shipments in the first quarter of this year. However, the rise appears to reflect a response to supply chain pressure rather than an expansion in demand.
Prices of memory semiconductors are soaring as artificial intelligence (AI) services expand. On top of that, raw material prices are trending higher due to the impact of the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Laptop and PC makers are responding to market changes by churning out products before component prices climb further.
According to market research firm Omdia on the 13th, total global shipments of desktops, laptops, and workstations (high-end PCs designed for professional tasks) in the first quarter came to 64.8 million units. That was up 3.2% from a year earlier. Of that, laptop shipments were tallied at 50.8 million units, up 2.6% on-year, while desktop shipments were found to be 14 million units, up 5.4% over the period. Market research firm Gartner also counted global PC and laptop shipments in the first quarter at 62.8 million units, up about 4% from a year earlier.
Omdia cited as the main reason for the increase in shipments that "major supply and channel players pulled forward orders before a broad-based rise in component prices." In effect, shipments rose in the first quarter because future demand was used in advance. In addition, it was analyzed that ▲ industrial products are being replaced as Microsoft (MS) ends support for Windows 10 ▲ and major brands such as Apple released more new models than usual.
Ben Yeh, a senior analyst at Omdia, said, "Given that supply chain pressure is mounting now, the first-quarter growth rate is likely to be the highest this year," and "in the second quarter, memory and storage expenses are rising more steeply than initially expected, pressuring the profitability of laptop and PC makers."
Looking at first-quarter laptop and PC shipment shares by manufacturer, Lenovo ranked No. 1 with 25.5%. Shipments rose 8.7% on-year to 16.53 million units, with share up 1.3 percentage points. Dell's shipments rose 7.8% over the period to 10.29 million units, taking a 15.9% share and placing third. Apple, which shipped 7.11 million units (11.0% share), ranked fourth, and Asus, with shipments of 4.52 million units (7.1%), ranked fifth.
Among major manufacturers, HP was the only one to see a decline in shipments. HP's first-quarter shipments were tallied at 12.14 million units, down 4.9% from a year earlier. Its share also fell 1.6 percentage points to 18.7%, but it managed to hold on to second place.
◇ Laptop and PC memory prices nearly quadruple in a year
According to Omdia, prices of memory and storage used in laptops and PCs are rising steeply across the board, from entry-level to premium. Compared with the first quarter of last year, as of the second quarter this year, laptop and PC memory prices are up 3.3 to 3.7 times.
Specifically, the price of memory semiconductors used in entry-level laptops and PCs (a combination of 8GB DRAM and 256GB storage) has risen about 250% over the period, from about $50 (about 75,000 won) to around $170 (about 254,000 won). The premium combination (16GB+1TB) also climbed about 232% ($237), and the current price was found to be about $340 (about 500,000 won).
Although estimates vary somewhat by market research firms and securities firms and investment banks (IB), the common assessment is that the rise in memory semiconductor prices could continue at least through the end of the year. Many surveys say the increase could last until late 2027 to early 2028. As demand for AI servers surges and production of high bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-capacity storage increases, a structure in which consumer memory supply declines could persist for a long time.
A PC industry source said, "As memory semiconductor price increases are expected to persist, major suppliers (mainly distributors) are increasing orders to secure volumes before prices rise," adding, "Securing products before ex-factory prices go up is essential to defend profitability." The source added, "From the suppliers' standpoint, they cannot stockpile inventory indefinitely, so with manufacturers now fully implementing price hikes, the market has shifted to controlling the pace."
◇ Laptop and PC prices climb across the board
DRAM and solid-state drives (SSD) typically account for about 15% of laptop and PC manufacturing costs. Market research firm TrendForce analyzed that due to higher memory semiconductor prices, this share will exceed 30% in the first quarter.
The semiconductor shortage caused by rising AI demand is also spreading to central processing unit (CPU) price hikes. Intel has already raised prices of some entry-level and older CPUs by more than 15%. In the second quarter, it is expected to raise most CPU prices by 10% to 25%. AMD is also planning CPU price increases similar to Intel's. TrendForce said, "Assuming a $900 laptop, the share of memory and CPU in total component prices could rise from 45% to 58%," adding, "To maintain current profitability, the retail price would increase by up to 40%."
In practice, major laptop and PC companies have been raising product prices since early this year. Asus increased prices of some laptops and desktops by 15% to 25% starting in Jan. HP and Dell also released official announcements of price adjustments in the second quarter.
In Korea, LG Electronics raised prices of some "Gram" models by up to 1 million won starting on the 1st. The 2026 16-inch Gram model has risen an additional 13%, from 3.14 million won at launch to the 3.54 million won range now. Samsung Electronics also raised prices of the "Galaxy Book6 series" by 175,000 won to as much as 900,000 won, depending on specifications.
Accordingly, market research firms projected that global annual laptop and PC shipments this year could fall by double digits from a year earlier. IDC forecast an 11.3% drop, and Gartner predicted a 10.4% decline. TrendForce expects the laptop market to shrink 14.8%.
Laptop and PC companies cannot celebrate despite higher first-quarter shipments. An industry source said, "As component price spikes were anticipated early, consumers also felt that 'today is the cheapest,' which temporarily lifted demand," but added, "Because demand was effectively pulled forward, companies are pushing aggressive cost-cutting policies to brace for future sales declines."