Worldwide PC shipments totaled 59 million units in the first quarter of 2025, a 4.8% increase from the first quarter of 2024, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. U.S. PC shipments grew 12.6%, reaching 16 million units in the first quarter of 2025.

“The growth in the PC market in the first quarter of 2025 was driven by the surge in shipments in two key markets, the U.S. and Japan, but for different underlying reasons,” said Rishi Padhi, research principal at Gartner.

“In the U.S., the PC market experienced a surge in shipments as vendors increased inventory in anticipation of tariff announcements, resulting in 12.6% year-over-year growth.

“Despite this increase and the subsequent strong topline growth, underlying end-user demand remained cautious, even with the added boost from enterprises upgrading PCs for Windows 11.

“In Japan, strong business PC demand driven by Windows 11 replacements, coupled with the adoption of Chromebooks, significantly contributed to shipment growth of 15.6%.

“Vendors participating in the GIGA education Chromebook replacement program capitalized on this opportunity by offering upgrades to older devices, thereby sustaining momentum in the market.”

In Gartner’s estimates, Lenova shipped the most PC units in the first quarter of 2025, with 15,275 shipped units, claiming 25.9% of the market share. This was followed by HP, with 12,761 at 21.6% of the market share, and Dell, selling 9,621 units with 16.3% of the market share.

It is, however, difficult to take the first quarter’s market sales as a predictor of the rest of the year as US tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump are set to interrupt global supply chains for major PC manufacturing companies.

The IDC already predicted that global IT spending was set to be negatively affected by the US tariffs.

China has been particularly hard hit by the US tariffs, though much remains uncertain with Trump flip flopping on if tech devices from China will face a 125% import tariff to the US.

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It was reported that a US customs notice said that electronic devices – including laptops and smart phones – from China would be excluded from that 125% tariff, though Trump has since said this report is false.

The President says that these devices “are moving to a different tariff bucket.”

While China has warned the US to call off all tariffs on Chinese goods, the Trump administration says that imports from China will be subject to a semiconductor tax, with details to come on what this exactly means.

Trump is expected to provide more details on this apparent semiconductor tax later today, as markets continue to brace on what this could mean.