Apple sells estimated 1.4M Macs in US to capture 8% market share

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Quarterly PC shipment estimates were released Wednesday, and Apple's share of the U.S. PC market grew 34 percent year over year to capture 8 percent of the total domestic market.



Gartner



According to research firm Gartner, Apple was the fifth-largest PC vendor in the U.S. for the three-month quarter to start 2010. With an estimated 1.398 million Macs shipped stateside, Apple was behind only HP, Dell, Acer and Toshiba.



Gartner said the hype around Apple's recently released iPad likely helped Mac sales for the quarter, which grew 34 percent from the same period in 2009. A year ago, Macs accounted for 7.2 percent of the U.S. market.



Total estimated PC shipments in the U.S. were 17.4 million for the first quarter of 2010, representing a 20.2 percent increase from the same frame in 2009. That amounts to two consecutive quarters of double-digit shipment growth for the U.S market.



"Although the first quarter is not typically a strong quarter for the consumer market, growth in the consumer segment was strong," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst with Gartner. "We are expecting about 30 percent growth in the U.S. consumer PC market in the first quarter of 2010. The positive economic outlook and affordable system prices drove U.S. consumers to buy more PCs. These purchases either replaced aging PCs or became additions to buyers' households."



Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q10 (Thousands of Units) | Source: Gartner



Staying atop the domestic market was HP, but it and second-place manufacturer Dell saw year-over-year growth that came in below the industry average, at 7.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. HP still managed to take 25 percent of the U.S. market, followed closely by Dell with 23.4 percent.



In third was Acer, which skyrocketed 50.9 percent from 2009 shipments, followed by Toshiba which grew an even 50 percent. Acer took 15.6 percent of estimated U.S. shipments, totaling 2.7 million. Toshiba accounted for 1.5 million and 8.6 percent of the market.



Worldwide, HP was also on top, with a total of 15.3 million shipments estimated for the first quarter, good for an 18.2 percent market share. In second was Acer, taking 12 million and 14.2 percent, followed by Dell (10.2 million, 12.1 percent), Lenovo (7 million, 8.3 percent), Asus (4.6 million, 5.5 percent) and Toshiba (4.6 million, 5.5 percent). Apple did not make Gartner's list of the top worldwide PC vendors.



IDC



Also released Wednesday were figures from IDC, which tracked estimated domestic Apple shipments at 1.13 million, good for a 6.4 percent market share. IDC, too, found Apple to be the fifth-largest U.S. vendor, behind HP, Dell, Acer and Toshiba.



Differing from Gartner, IDC found that Apple's year-over-year growth was just 8.3 percent, and total market share was down from 7 percent in the first quarter of 2009.



In all, the U.S. PC market grew an estimated 16.9 percent to 17.5 million units in the first quarter of 2010, according to IDC. HP captured 25.4 percent of the market, selling 4.5 million PCs, edging out Dell's 4.2 million and 24.1 percent share.



"As expected, the U.S. market was not able to maintain the spike of growth (more than 24%) seen in 4Q09, but momentum from the holiday season continued, resulting in stronger than expected sales across both form factors," IDC wrote. "Steadily improved business spending, as well as growing interest in niche desktop segments, yielded a strong desktop quarter."



Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q10 (Thousands of Units) | Source: IDC



Worldwide sales increased 24.2 percent, with total shipments in the first quarter estimated at 79 million. HP was the top company, shipping 15.6 percent in the first quarter, good for a 19.7 percent market share.



IDC found that Acer was the No. 2 overall worldwide PC manufacturer, with 10.8 million PCs shipped and a 13.6 percent market share. Dell took third, with 10.5 million shipments and 13.3 percent of the market. Lenovo (7 million, 8.8 percent) and Toshiba (4.6 million, 5.8 percent) rounded out the top five.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 46
    williamgwilliamg Posts: 322member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Quarterly PC shipment estimates were released Wednesday, and Apple's share of the U.S. PC market grew 34 percent year over year to capture 8 percent of the total domestic market.






    34% growth is amazing.



    What's up with Toshiba and Acer? They each increased sales by 50% or more.



    Dell and HP are neck and neck. They're both HUGE! Together, they make up fully half of the entire market. Amazing.
  • Reply 2 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    I'd love to see the revenue, operating profit and net profit from these vendors. This Business Week chart from 23-MAR-2010 shows that Apple is the market leader.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WilliamG View Post


    What's up with Toshiba and Acer? They each increased sales by 50% or more.



    Netbooks are counted as PCs. Rightly so, but it does skew the unit sales until you look at more valuable data like revenue, profit and average price per unit.. That shows that unit sales are a pointless metric unless qualified.
  • Reply 3 of 46
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WilliamG View Post


    34% growth is amazing.



    What's up with Toshiba and Acer? They each increased sales by 50% or more.



    Dell and HP are neck and neck. They're both HUGE! Together, they make up fully half of the entire market. Amazing.



    Netbooks. It's a mad race to the bottom.
  • Reply 4 of 46
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member
    will ipads be counted in this in the future? Do they qualify? I understand that apple plays them as alternatives, but I'm not sure if they should be counted. If so, that might give apple a huge market share jump next quarter
  • Reply 5 of 46
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    To be clear these aren't the actual quarterly results, but rather, estimates.



    The results will come on April 20th.



    http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq210/
  • Reply 6 of 46
    t0mat0t0mat0 Posts: 58member
    Will be nice to see an updated drilldown for what %age of the >$1000 PC market Apple's got.
  • Reply 7 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    will ipads be counted in this in the future? Do they qualify? I understand that apple plays them as alternatives, but I'm not sure if they should be counted. If so, that might give apple a huge market share jump next quarter



    It doesn't run a desktop-class OS so it won't be counted. Nor should it be since it's designed to be a satallite computing device to your PC*. If we count devices based on OS X then we have Mac OS and iPhone OS, but that doesn't really matter.



    The HP Slate would likely be counted since it's running Windows 7 but there may be some analysts who will not include it. Tablets may finally find themselves in their own category since this market is finally picking up. I think the results from last year were 1.09 million tablets and convertible notebooks sold. With Apple selling a half million in a week and estimates now at 7 million for the year creating a new category seems likely, as well as separating out tablets with idealized OS from the ones that are shoehorning Windows 7 into them.



    * Macs are PCs
  • Reply 8 of 46
    bc kellybc kelly Posts: 148member
    .



    Believe this article and statistics relate to "personal computers"



    But only in an ancient and limited sense - like some "box" that sits on a desk



    Why limit ourselves to the aged and antique ?



    iPhone can "compute" with the best of them - and better than many "netbooks"



    Also is about as personal of a personal computer as personal computers can get



    So let's Get Real? about our definitions and include iPhone



    .



    Ergo - add in iPhone's 8,700,000 sales last quarter (number via Wiki)



    Appears Apple is selling a chit load of "personal computers"



    And believe that puts them at #1



    .



    Oh yea - and here comes the iPad





    BC
  • Reply 9 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BC Kelly View Post


    .



    Believe this article and statistics relate to "personal computers"



    But only in an ancient and limited sense - like some "box" that sits on a desk



    Why limit ourselves to the aged and antique ?



    iPhone can "compute" with the best of them - and better than many "netbooks"



    Also is about as personal of a personal computer as personal computers can get



    So let's Get Real? about our definitions and include iPhone



    .



    Ergo - add in iPhone's 8,700,000 sales last quarter (number via Wiki)



    Appears Apple is selling a chit load of "personal computers"



    And believe that puts them at #1



    .



    Oh yea - and here comes the iPad





    BC



    During the iPad presentation in January Steve Jobs mentioned that they are the largest vendor of mobile devices in the world. That is unit sales and includes the iPhone, Touch, and their laptops. I;m not sure if it included other iPods. Either way, they are making it known how big they are.



    Since a netbook is technically designed to be a computer it should be considered in the PC stats, but as the chart posted above shows, it just makes Apple's revenue and profit look even better. Netooks are like sporks. They can used as spoons or as forks but they aren't great as either, while the iPhone and iPad are more like corkscrews that have a specific purpose that are designed for.
  • Reply 10 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I'd love to see the revenue, operating profit and net profit from these vendors. This Business Week chart from 23-MAR-2010 shows that Apple is the market leader.


    Netbooks are counted as PCs. Rightly so, but it does skew the unit sales until you look at more valuable data like revenue, profit and average price per unit.. That shows that unit sales are a pointless metric unless qualified.



    You are so right! This is the real story here! 8% and 6.4% whatever from Gartner and IDC is just not relevant or interesting at all. It's clear that Acer and Toshiba's unit figures are massively padded by cheap low margin netbooks and make the concept of a unit incomparable. Revenue an profit are far more useful to demo Apple's success.
  • Reply 11 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Stashman View Post


    You are so right! This is the real story here! 8% and 6.4% whatever from Gartner and IDC is just not relevant or interesting at all. It's clear that Acer and Toshiba's unit figures are massively padded by cheap low margin netbooks and make the concept of a unit incomparable. Revenue an profit are far more useful to demo Apple's success.



    Well what that chart clearly shows is how large their margins are on each computer they sell. There is simply no argument to say that Macs are not overpriced when you look at that. They objectively are massively overpriced compared to everyone else. That we as mac users decide to pay what Apple asks for is a different matter, but there is clearly no need in trying to claim that Macs are not extremely expensive machines relative to the others, and that Apple pockets that difference big time.
  • Reply 12 of 46
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LouisTheXIV View Post


    Well what that chart clearly shows is how large their margins are on each computer they sell. There is simply no argument to say that Macs are not overpriced when you look at that. They objectively are massively overpriced compared to everyone else.



    Actually the chart does not say that (it does not say the opposite either). It mainly reflects that Apple does not play in some price categories. It is normal that a higher priced device also carries a higher margin. Top of the line Sony, Lenovo, HP and Dell models do also carry a huge mark-up, maybe even a higher one as they are less well designed and use less custom parts, and they would certainly love to sell them... just the majority of their customers goes for the cheaper models. Not Apple's fault.
  • Reply 13 of 46
    bregaladbregalad Posts: 816member
    Given that 1Q09 actual numbers are available why do Gartner and IDC have different figures for that time period? Showing growth from their incorrect 2009 estimates to their probably incorrect 2010 ones makes the entire exercise pointless.
  • Reply 14 of 46
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    It doesn't run a desktop-class OS so it won't be counted. Nor should it be since it's designed to be a satallite computing device to your PC*. If we count devices based on OS X then we have Mac OS and iPhone OS, but that doesn't really matter.



    That is certainly one way to look at it, but how do we subtract the thousands of Dell and HP PCs in enterprises that are only used as clients, only being satellite devices to a server/mainframe? Does it make sense to ignore a $829 computing device (yes, it is personal and yes, it is a computer), when there are $200 netbooks included in the list that can barely surf the Web or play back video as well as the iPad (not true for all netbooks, but there are definitely a few that would lose here)?



    It is an interesting question and I do not know the answer, but I am not sure that the case is anywhere that clear.
  • Reply 15 of 46
    mark2005mark2005 Posts: 1,158member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bregalad View Post


    Given that 1Q09 actual numbers are available why do Gartner and IDC have different figures for that time period? Showing growth from their incorrect 2009 estimates to their probably incorrect 2010 ones makes the entire exercise pointless.



    Most of the numbers are not yet available as the companies have not yet reported. Apple doesn't report until next week.



    Also, IDC's estimates look way off. Most analysts think Mac sales jumped about 35-40%, but that includes international sales, which lately have been growing faster than US sales. Still, for IDC to think Apple only grew 8.3% in the US is a shocker.
  • Reply 16 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    edit: Pipped by dreyfus2.
  • Reply 17 of 46
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dreyfus2 View Post


    That is certainly one way to look at it, but how do we subtract the thousands of Dell and HP PCs in enterprises that are only used as clients, only being satellite devices to a server/mainframe? Does it make sense to ignore a $829 computing device (yes, it is personal and yes, it is a computer), when there are $200 netbooks included in the list that can barely surf the Web or play back video as well as the iPad (not true for all netbooks, but there are definitely a few that would lose here)?



    It is an interesting question and I do not know the answer, but I am not sure that the case is anywhere that clear.



    I see your point, but the simplest answer is not to count devices with embedded OSes or OSes that require a connection to a traditional PC to activate, as the iPad does.



    The iPad was designed to be a satellite device. We both know that it would be trivial to make it stand alone, requiring no PC iTunes connection, allowing for Finder to be added, allowing media to be synced to it and allowing iPhone/iPods to sync to it. Those Dells and HPs that are used by corporations to work with a server started out with a desktop OS on them (a traditional PC) even if they are now locked down to only offer a connection to corporate server and nothing else.
  • Reply 18 of 46
    Who are these people buying Acer & Toshiba PCs!? I've never met or known anyone that's purchased from these vendors. My company would do anything to save a penny. But, they would never consider Acer or Toshiba.
  • Reply 19 of 46
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LouisTheXIV View Post


    Well what that chart clearly shows is how large their margins are on each computer they sell. There is simply no argument to say that Macs are not overpriced when you look at that. They objectively are massively overpriced compared to everyone else. That we as mac users decide to pay what Apple asks for is a different matter, but there is clearly no need in trying to claim that Macs are not extremely expensive machines relative to the others, and that Apple pockets that difference big time.



    It isn't that Macs are overpriced. It's that PC manufacturers are making very little profit at all. They can't keep this up. When margins are so close to the edge, it doesn't take much to drive off it. Many technology and software companies make much bigger margins than Apple does. It's called "good management".



    When you look at net margins (profit), Apple makes almost 19% at times. So if we cut that to a still respectable, but not wonderful 10%,

    then we can cut prices by what? 5%? 7%? 10%?



    Would that really make that much difference?



    One reason why Apple charges more is because year after year, they come home with by far the best service ratings. That's expensive!
  • Reply 20 of 46
    I'm of the opinion that the iPad meets the definition of a NetBook as put out there by the industry before the iPad was rumored to be on the way: A low cost, very portable, limited OS device meant for browsing the web, reading email, and light computing duty (e.g word processing, etc.).



    Only when it was convenient for the pundits and Apple naysayers to do so did a NetBook become a computer to be counted in the market share numbers, to counter the phenomenal growth the Apple is seeing in laptops and desktops.



    Windows 7 Starter Edition is to WIndows 7 as iPhone 3.2 is to OSX 10.6.



    Take the iPad expected sales, add them to the Mac sales, and by this time next year Apple is number 1 in PC market share in the US.
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