Overview
- IDC and Omdia, which reported Thursday, said Q1 2026 PC shipments grew roughly 2.5% to 3.2% after buyers pulled orders forward to beat expected component price hikes.
- Memory and storage will get more expensive from Q2, Omdia said, with vendors likely passing higher DRAM and NAND costs to customers as Intel and AMD signal 10% to 25% CPU price increases.
- The Middle East conflict is lifting energy, freight and insurance costs, IDC said, which raises delivery expenses and could sap consumer demand as household bills climb.
- IDC reported stronger Q1 growth in Asia Pacific and EMEA than in the Americas, while Lenovo led global shipments ahead of HP and Dell.
- Omdia warned that soaring memory costs could erase sub-$500 PCs and strain channel firms as some vendors refuse to hold prices or even cancel orders after purchase commitments.