Mac shipments fall, but Apple still gains ground in shrinking market
Apple’s Mac shipments fell 11.3% in the third quarter of 2026, but the company increased its market share as global PC shipments fell more sharply, according to the latest preliminary estimates from IDC.
Apple shipped about 5.9 million Macs between July and September, up from 6.7 million a year earlier. This brings Apple’s market share to 9.5%, up from 8.5% in the third quarter of 2025. Apple retained fourth place in IDC’s vendor rankings.
Across all brands, shipments fell to 62.7 million units from 78.5 million a year earlier, a decline of 20.1%. This slowdown follows an annual decline of 3.8% in the second quarter. Third-quarter shipments were also 9.1% lower than the second-quarter total, even though this is typically a busier time for the industry.
Lenovo led the market with 14.9 million shipments, followed by HP with 10.3 million and Dell with 7.6 million. Their respective declines were 22.6%, 30.9% and 25%. ASUS, fifth with 5.5 million shipments, saw an 8.6% decline, making it the only vendor in the top five with a lower percentage decline than Apple.
IDC says the timing of earlier orders contributed to the quarter’s weakness. Manufacturers and channel partners secured inventory earlier than usual to limit their exposure to rising memory costs, thereby reducing remaining volume for later in the year. With sellers still holding this inventory, there was apparently less need to order additional devices during the third quarter.
The research firm also cited component shortages and higher prices, linking supply pressure and costs to the expansion of AI data centers. Apple raised prices in June, with former CEO Tim Cook citing a sharp increase in memory spending during the company’s July earnings call.
IDC added that sellers might offer discounts to reduce unsold inventory, but it does not expect prices to return to where they were a year ago. The company also warned that a weakening economy could further lower demand through the end of 2026 and into 2027.
