Global PC Shipments Slump for the First Time in Two Years as Memory Shortage Bites

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI-Driven Memory Crunch Finally Catches Up with the PC Market

The global PC market has hit a wall. Worldwide shipments fell nearly five percent to 68.2 million units in the most recent quarter, according to fresh data from the International Data Corporation (IDC). It marks the first year-over-year decline in two years, breaking a streak of nine consecutive quarters of growth.

The culprit is no mystery: the AI-driven memory shortage that has been squeezing supply chains since late 2025 has now landed squarely on consumers’ doorsteps.

The Numbers Tell a Two-Sided Story

While unit shipments dropped, revenue actually rose for PC manufacturers. IDC notes that “vendors are pushing price increases through faster than demand is dropping,” meaning companies are passing along higher component costs while still selling fewer machines — just at much higher prices.

“The real story here is the disconnect between units and dollars: shipments are falling, but revenue is climbing,” said Jitesh Ubrani, a research analyst at IDC. “Vendors are bracing for further price hikes into 2027.”

Ubrani warns that the situation could worsen later this year as existing inventory dries up and consumers face steeper price tags, potentially disrupting the traditional PC upgrade cycle.

Apple Stands Alone in Shipment Growth

There is one bright spot — or rather, one company that managed to buck the trend. Apple posted an increase of 800,000 PC shipments compared to the same quarter last year, driven almost entirely by the red-hot MacBook Neo. The surge pushed Apple’s market share from 8.5 percent to nearly ten percent.

But even Apple isn’t immune. The memory shortage has forced the company to raise prices. The entry-level MacBook Neo went from $600 to $700, while a base-model MacBook Air now costs $1,300.

“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” outgoing CEO Tim Cook said recently. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products.”

Memory Shortage Expected to Persist Until 2028

The root cause — a global shortage of DRAM and NAND memory chips — stems from the insatiable demand for AI training infrastructure. Data centers are hoarding memory modules at unprecedented rates, crowding out the supply that would otherwise go to consumer PC manufacturing. IDC expects the crunch to last until at least 2028.

Ironically, the “memory guys” that Cook referenced are doing just fine. Memory manufacturers have raised prices aggressively, and PC vendors have largely passed those increases straight through to consumers. Apple itself reported $68.5 billion in cash on hand for the quarter — a 41 percent year-over-year increase — and a valuation north of $4.6 trillion.

What This Means for the PC Industry

The coming quarters could be rocky. With inventories thinning and no relief in sight on the memory front, consumers may delay upgrades, extending the already-lengthening PC replacement cycle. That, in turn, could reshape how manufacturers approach pricing, product tiers, and long-term roadmaps.