Windows 11 Upgrades and Increased Inventory to Preempt U.S. Tariff Impacts Fueled Growth

By ; Ghada Helmy

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.”

There were no major changes in the top six vendor rankings worldwide in the first quarter of 2025 (see Table 1). In worldwide PC shipments, Lenovo had the strongest growth rate among the top six vendors at 9.6% year-over-year, while Acer experienced the slowest growth at 1.9%.

Table 1: Gartner Data Snapshot: Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q25 (Thousands of Units)

Notes: Data includes desktop and laptop PCs that are equipped with Windows, macOS and Chrome OS. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change. The statistics are based on shipments selling into channels. Numbers may not add up to totals shown due to rounding.

Source: Gartner (April 2025)

In the U.S. market, HP was in the top spot with 25.1% market share (see Table 2), followed by Dell with 23.9% of the market. 

Table 2: Gartner Data Snapshot: Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q25 (Thousands of Units)