Global PC Shipments Rise 2.5% in Q1 2026, but Higher Costs Loom

Global PC shipments grew 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026, totaling 65.6 million units despite ongoing memory shortages and significant logistical hurdles. Preliminary data from IDC shows the market still managing to post another quarter of growth, even as macroeconomic conditions deteriorate and hardware costs begin to climb.



The quarterly growth was supported by the anticipation of rising component prices, Windows 10 migration, and several new product introductions. For Apple, this included a major update of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with M5 chips, along with the debut of the $599 MacBook Neo. Many buyers and vendors likely moved early to stay ahead of expected price increases later in the year.


Supply chains are under pressure from a global memory crunch. IDC says 2026 will likely come down to shifts in market share, with access to key components like RAM deciding which vendors can actually fulfill orders. That lines up with recent industry warnings that laptop prices could surge 40 percent this year as component costs continue to climb.

Logistics issues are adding to the pressure, as conflict in the Middle East pushes up energy costs and freight rates. Shipping routes between Asia and EMEA remain disrupted, and while some companies have turned to air freight, it comes at a much higher cost. Those added expenses are making their way through the supply chain, putting even more pressure on end-user pricing.

While the first quarter ended in the green, IDC expects shipments to slip for the rest of the year as system prices continue to rise. This follows a 9.6 percent increase in the final quarter of 2025 when the market stockpiled inventory ahead of supply chain constraints. Apple remains a potential outlier in this slowing market, with IDC data showing shipments up 9.1 percent year over year and market share rising to 9.5 percent. Analysts also project it could ship 25 million MacBooks this year by leaning on its new entry-level hardware and aggressive pricing.