PC shipments up 10.9% in Q4 2003

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 168.9 million units in 2003, a 10.9% increase from 2002 shipments, according to preliminary results from Gartner, Inc. PC vendors benefited from a healthy fourth quarter, as worldwide PC shipments totaled 48.4 million units, a 12% increase from Q4 2002.

Dell was the No. 1 vendor in 2003 based on worldwide shipments. However, Hewlett-Packard was the top vendor in the fourth quarter of 2003. HP's strong focus on the consumer market in the United States, and its success in the EMEA region, were important drivers in moving it into the No. 1 position. Dell slipped into second place in the quarter. Gartner analysts said the fourth quarter is typically a weaker quarter for Dell because it has less presence in the worldwide consumer market.

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2003
(Thousands of Units)

2003 2002 2003 Market 2002 Market Company Shipments Share Shipments Share Growth (%) (%) (%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dell 25,302 15.0 20,110 13.2 25.8 Hewlett-Packard 24,230 14.3 21,567 14.2 12.3 IBM 8,608 5.1 7,913 5.2 8.8 Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens 6,370 3.8 5,714 3.8 11.5 Toshiba 4,944 2.9 4,233 2.8 16.8 Others 99,402 58.9 92,758 60.9 7.2 Total 168,856 100.0 152,295 100.0 10.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and IA-32 servers. Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2004)