The global PC market shrank for the first time in nearly two years. According to data shared by International Data Corporation (IDC), PC shipments worldwide decreased by approximately 5 percent on an annual basis, falling to 68.2 million units. Thus, the growth series that continued for nine quarters ended. The research company states that the global supply shortage caused by artificial intelligence-focused memory demand played a decisive role in the weakening of the market.
According to IDC’s assessment, the supply problem in the memory market is not expected to be resolved in the short term. The rapidly increasing demand for high-bandwidth memories and advanced DRAM solutions used in artificial intelligence systems is increasing the cost of the components needed by computer manufacturers. As a result, price increases are seen not only in the PC industry but also in different electronic product groups that use memory. The organization points out that the current imbalance may continue to have an impact until 2028.
Manufacturers’ revenues continue to rise as memory costs rise
Despite the decrease in shipments, a different picture emerges on the income side of manufacturers. IDC states that manufacturers are reflecting rising component costs into product prices faster than the decline in demand. Therefore, while the number of computers sold decreases, total revenues continue to rise. Jitesh Ubrani from the research company states that the most striking element of the current period is the divergence between shipment and revenue and says that manufacturers are preparing for new cost increases that may last until 2027.
IDC also predicts that the decline may become more pronounced later in the year. As existing stocks run out, manufacturers are expected to introduce new products with higher cost components. There is a possibility that this situation will push consumer prices up again and users will postpone their computer renewal decisions. It is considered that the pressure on demand may increase due to higher price sensitivity, especially in the entry and middle segments.
Despite the overall decline in the market, Apple was one of the few manufacturers to increase its shipments. The company shipped approximately 800 thousand more Macs compared to the same period in 2025. Thanks to this increase, Apple’s share in the global PC market increased from 8.5 percent to approximately 10 percent. The report shows strong demand for the MacBook Neo model as the main factor behind this growth.
However, Apple does not operate completely unaffected by the rise in memory costs. The company increased the starting price of the entry-level MacBook Neo model from $600 to $700. In other models, the increase was more pronounced. For example, the price of the entry-level MacBook Air increased to $ 1,300. Thus, the rise in memory costs began to have an impact on the final prices passed on to consumers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also stated in his recent statement that memory supply lags behind demand and that memory manufacturers are passing on high cost increases directly to customers. Cook stated that memory supply and prices should return to reasonable levels in order to achieve more balanced price levels in consumer products.
IDC’s latest data indicates that if the problem in memory supply continues, both prices and demand in the PC market may remain under pressure in the coming period.