PC shipments around the world reached 59 million units in the first quarter of 2025, up 4.8% from the same period last year, according to the latest data from research firm Gartner Inc. Gartner attributed the increase to the strong shipments in the United States and Japan, though the reasons behind the growth varied by region.
“In the US, the PC market experienced a surge in shipments as vendors increased inventory in anticipation of tariff announcements, resulting in 12.6% year-over-year growth,” said Rishi Padhi, research principal at Gartner.
In the US, PC shipments rose by 12.6% year-over-year, totaling 16 million units. Padhi explained that this was largely due to vendors building up stock in response to possible changes in import tariffs.
Upgrades to support Windows 11
However, Gartner noted that actual consumer demand remained cautious, even with companies starting to upgrade their devices to support Windows 11.
Japan saw a 15.6% increase in shipments because of business upgrades to Windows 11 machines and a wave of Chromebook replacements in schools under the GIGA program.
“Vendors participating in the GIGA education Chromebook replacement program capitalized on this opportunity by offering upgrades to older devices, thereby sustaining momentum in the market,” Padhi said.
Despite the overall growth, the global rankings among the top six PC makers remained steady. Lenovo saw the highest growth rate among them at 9.6%, while Acer’s growth was the lowest at 1.9%.
In the US, HP led the market with a 25.1% share, followed by Dell at 23.9%.
The report includes desktops and laptops running Windows, macOS, or Chrome OS. Gartner stressed that the figures are based on early estimates and could change once final data is confirmed.