Global PC Shipments Fell 21% in Q3 2026 as RAM and Chip Prices Rose
Counterpoint Research says higher memory and processor costs drove the drop, and smartphone shipments hit a 14-year low in the same quarter
By AXY Tech Desk ·
Key points
- Counterpoint Research says global PC shipments fell 21 percent year-over-year in Q3 2026, a figure in line with earlier reports from IDC and Omdia.
- The firm links the drop to higher prices for RAM, SSDs and chips from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm, and smartphone shipments hit a 14-year low in the same quarter.
- Counterpoint forecasts a 27 percent fall in Q4 2026 and broadly flat shipments in 2027, warning that stabilization should not be mistaken for recovery.
Global shipments of new personal computers fell 21 percent in the third quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research. The research firm linked the drop to higher component prices, which have pushed up what laptops and desktops cost after months of price increases. For buyers, that means fewer new machines are reaching homes, schools and offices than a year ago.
Counterpoint's figure matches earlier reports from IDC and Omdia, two other firms that track device sales. When three separate trackers point the same way, the decline looks less like one company's estimate and more like a real change in the market. The same quarter also saw smartphone shipments hit a 14-year low, which suggests the pressure is not limited to computers.
To put the 21 percent figure in everyday terms, shipments count the number of units manufacturers send into the market. A fall of that size means roughly one in five fewer PCs moved through the supply chain in the July to September period than in the same three months a year earlier. Those are the machines that would otherwise have been sold to students, families, offices and small businesses.
Why RAM and Chip Costs Are Pushing Up PC Prices
Counterpoint pointed to component prices as the central reason for the slump. Components are the individual parts inside a machine. RAM, short for random access memory, is the short-term memory a computer uses while it runs programs. The more programs open at once, the more RAM a machine needs to keep things running smoothly. SSDs, or solid-state drives, are the storage where files, applications and the operating system are kept.
Over the last several months, RAM and SSDs have become more expensive. So have processors from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. The processor is the main chip that carries out a computer’s instructions, so when its cost rises, so does the price of the whole machine. Counterpoint said these increases have fed into price rises across a wide range of products, from Apple’s MacBook laptops to the Raspberry Pi, a small and inexpensive single-board computer that is popular with hobbyists, students and teachers.
The cost chain is simple to follow. A maker buys memory, storage and chips from suppliers. If those parts cost more, the maker either raises the price of the finished product or accepts a smaller profit. When many makers face the same pressure at once, the price increases reach almost every shelf, and buyers who were already waiting to upgrade have more reason to hold off.
How Makers Are Reshaping What They Sell
Counterpoint senior analyst Minsoo Kang said some companies are changing their product plans in response. In his words, they are shifting toward configurations that “prioritize configurations that can better absorb component inflation.” In plain terms, makers are focusing on models that can carry higher parts costs more easily, usually because they sell at a higher price. That leaves fewer cheap options on the market.
That shift matters most to price-sensitive buyers, the people for whom a few hundred dollars more can decide whether they buy now or wait. A family choosing a first laptop for a child, or a small shop replacing an aging computer, may find the entry-level models they used to compare have quietly disappeared or been replaced by more expensive versions.
Some manufacturers are going further by bringing back older technology to hold costs down. Counterpoint said some companies are reviving DDR4 RAM, an earlier generation of memory, and 4GB GPUs. A GPU, or graphics processing unit, is the chip that handles images and video. Older parts can still run everyday tasks such as web browsing, email and document work, but they are not the newest hardware. Buyers who assume a new box has the latest components may be surprised.
This could change what shoppers see when they browse stores or online listings. A computer that looks like a bargain on paper may use memory and graphics parts that are a generation behind the current standard. Anyone comparing machines will need to read the specifications closely, especially the memory type, the amount of RAM and the graphics chip, rather than relying on the processor name or the price tag alone.
Why 2025 Made the Drop Look Steeper
Counterpoint said the comparison base is part of the story. Shipments in the third quarter of 2025 were lifted by what the firm described as “purchases ahead of the Windows 10 support deadline and tariff-related inventory adjustments.” Microsoft’s deadline for ending support for Windows 10 pushed many people and organisations to buy new machines before the cutoff, which boosted sales in that period. Inventory adjustments are changes in how much stock companies hold, and tariff-related shifts can cause makers and retailers to move products earlier or later than usual.
Those one-off factors made the 2025 quarter stronger than it would otherwise have been. Counterpoint said they added to the sharp year-over-year drop in the latest quarter. In other words, part of the 21 percent fall reflects an unusually busy period a year earlier, not only a weaker period now.
That does not mean the underlying weakness is imaginary. Counterpoint’s main explanation is still component prices. The point is that the headline number can overstate the change in a single quarter, because the comparison started from a high base. Readers looking at the trend over several quarters, rather than one year-on-year figure, will get a clearer picture of where demand is heading.
The trend before this year is also important. Counterpoint said that up until the second quarter of 2026, PC shipments had been growing for more than two years in a row. That long run of gains makes the third-quarter fall a clear break from the recent past, not a continuation of a slow slide that had been underway for some time.
Counterpoint’s Forecast for the Fourth Quarter
The firm’s outlook is the most closely watched part of the report. Counterpoint associate director David Naranjo said the market may not bounce back soon. In his words, “With global shipments expected to plunge 27% in Q4 2026 and remain broadly flat in 2027, stabilization should not be mistaken for recovery.”
In plain language, Counterpoint expects shipments in the final quarter of 2026 to fall by 27 percent from a year earlier. It also expects the market to stay at roughly the same level through 2027, rather than climbing back. A flat year is not the same as a good year. It would mean the market settles at a lower volume than before the second quarter of 2026, with fewer units sold and fewer budget options available.
Naranjo’s distinction between stabilization and recovery is the key point. Stabilization means the decline stops getting worse. Recovery means demand grows again. The firm is suggesting that the first may arrive before the second, and that even a steady market could leave a smaller industry than the one that existed before prices rose.
This could also shape how companies plan. Lower volumes leave less money to absorb rising parts costs, and a steady fall in demand makes it harder to plan how many machines to build and how much stock to keep. Those pressures can push makers toward the premium configurations Kang described, which would keep the squeeze on buyers who want something cheap.
What Buyers Should Check Before Spending
For anyone considering a computer purchase, the figures point to a market where prices are unlikely to fall quickly. Counterpoint’s forecast suggests that conditions may stay tight through much of 2027. That does not mean every purchase should be delayed, especially if an existing machine has stopped doing the job. It does mean that comparing the parts inside each model matters more than before.
A practical check is the memory and storage. A computer with a small amount of RAM or an older memory type may feel slow after a few years, even if its processor looks strong on the box. Storage matters too, because a small SSD can fill up quickly with system files and applications. Checking the graphics chip is useful for anyone who edits video, plays games or runs demanding software.
Buyers who do not need the newest hardware may find more choice in the used market or in older-generation models, although availability depends on the local market. Small businesses and schools weighing replacements may also want to plan purchases carefully, since the Counterpoint forecast points to a period when prices may not ease.
Why the Smartphone Figure Matters
The same quarter saw smartphone shipments hit a 14-year low. That detail matters because phones depend on the same types of memory, storage and chips that Counterpoint described as getting more expensive. When those parts cost more across the industry, the pressure can show up in several kinds of consumer electronics at once.
For readers, the connection is practical. A weaker phone market and a weaker PC market can mean fewer launches, fewer discounts and fewer cheap models. It can also mean that people keep older devices for longer, which is one reason a slump in new sales does not always translate into lower prices for the products already in use.
The next test is the fourth quarter. If the 27 percent decline that Counterpoint forecasts arrives, it will confirm that the slowdown is deepening, as the firm expects. If the figures come in better than that, it may suggest buyers are adjusting to higher prices more quickly than the forecast allows. Either way, the results for that quarter will show whether the market is settling at a lower level or still falling.
Questions and answers
Why did PC shipments fall in Q3 2026?
Counterpoint Research linked the 21 percent year-over-year drop to higher component prices, including RAM, SSDs and processors from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Those costs have pushed up prices on many laptops and desktops.
Did smartphone sales also fall in the same quarter?
Yes. Counterpoint said smartphone shipments hit a 14-year low in the same quarter, which suggests the pressure from component costs is not limited to PCs.
What does Counterpoint forecast for the rest of 2026 and 2027?
Counterpoint expects global PC shipments to plunge 27 percent in Q4 2026 and to remain broadly flat in 2027. Its associate director David Naranjo said stabilization should not be mistaken for recovery.
Topics: PC shipments, Counterpoint Research, RAM prices, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Windows 10, Minsoo Kang
Sources: The Verge
https://axynewsglobal.com/article/global-pc-shipments-fell-21-in-q3-2026-as-ram-and-chip-prices-rose