PC Market’s Recovery Dreams Interrupted By HP, Dell Sales Nightmare

Legions of people converged on their local electronics box store this morning, clawing at the heavily discounted personal computers that lured them from their warm beds into the mayhem of Black Friday yet again.

Or maybe not. Byte-sized sales results from Hewlett Packard (HP) and Dell, released just before the holiday, dented hopes of a rebound in the sluggish PC market. Unfortunately, there’s no fast reboot. 

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There was, of course, a not-so-distant past when much of the world was on lockdown, making PCs or PC upgrades an essential home staple. Sales peaked in 2021, with a record 340 million units sold, according to Gartner research. But that glorious past became the inglorious present: Sales tumbled 14.8% last year in what Gartner described as “the worst year in PC history,” marking the second double-digit decline in as many years and leaving sales 7% below pre-pandemic levels.

This year was supposed to be the year the market would hit the reset button and power on in the upward direction: Analysts noted many models sold in 2021 have been refreshed and Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025, upping the pressure for customers — especially corporate ones — to buy new PCs. HP’s and Dell’s results on Wednesday brought a crushing blow:

• Revenue at Dell’s PC business fell 1% year-over-year to $12.1 billion in the third quarter, missing analyst estimates. HP’s PC unit managed a 2% increase to $9.6 billion in a mostly overlapping three-month period, but likewise did not meet Wall Street’s expectations.
• Dell shares fell 12% and HP slid 11% in the pre-Thanksgiving session—executives might be happy the disappointing results dropped on a day when many were travelling or getting their turkey brine ready.

A View from Your Windows: Uptake of new PCs with Microsoft’s new Windows 11 has been slower than expected, HP CEO Enrique Lores told investors on earnings call, adding this could be a good sign for the future since the company expects “the impact of the upgrade to be more pronounced in 2025.”