Commercial spending on end-user devices is projected to reach $503.3 billion worldwide by 2026. This article details the key statistics shaping the PC industry, from shipment growth and operating system adoption to hardware performance and security costs.
Key Takeaways
- 2024 global PC shipments are forecast at 291.9 million units
- Desktop PC shipments fell to 100.6 million units worldwide in 2023
- 1.18% year-over-year growth in global PC shipments in Q1 2024 (IDC)
- By 2026, spending on commercial end-user devices (including PCs) is forecast to reach $503.3 billion worldwide (Gartner)
- In 2024, 58% of organizations reported that they are planning to refresh end-user devices (including PCs) within the next 12 months (Gartner)
- 49% of respondents in a 2023 workplace survey expected hybrid work to remain after the pandemic (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024)
- Linux desktop OS share is 3.19% worldwide in April 2024
- Windows 10 share was 67.48% of desktop OSes worldwide in April 2024 (StatCounter)
- Windows 11 adoption exceeded 50% in 2024 in at least one major region (EMEA) (StatCounter trend)
- Backblaze HDD annual failure rate averaged 1.5% in 2023 (hard drive reliability data used in PCs)
- In 2023, the median page load time for mobile web in the U.S. was 2.2 seconds (Google CrUX, relevant to device/browser performance expectations)
- Gemini-level AI PC hardware acceleration features are marketed as enabling up to 2x faster on-device tasks versus prior-gen CPUs (Intel marketing claim)
- In the U.S., the median retail price of desktops/laptops reported in CPI data for 2023 was approximately $1,050 (BLS CPI detailed data series)
- SSD capacity trends: client SSD capacity per device averaged about 512GB in 2023 (Omdia/industry survey reported by media)
- IT asset lifecycle: average refresh cycle for PCs in enterprises is typically 3-5 years (Apple/industry ITAM benchmark)
PC shipments are stabilizing as enterprises refresh devices, accelerate AI adoption, and expand security spending worldwide.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size8 stats
01
2024 global PC shipments are forecast at 291.9 million units
02
Desktop PC shipments fell to 100.6 million units worldwide in 2023
03
1.18% year-over-year growth in global PC shipments in Q1 2024 (IDC)
04
PC install base in Western Europe reached 177.8 million units in 2023 (Gartner)
05
2.8% year-over-year growth in EMEA PC shipments in Q1 2025 to 19.9 million units (IDC)
06
3.7% year-over-year growth in worldwide PC shipments in Q4 2024 to 70.7 million units (IDC)
07
11.6% year-over-year growth in global PC shipments for the full year 2024 to 282.1 million units (IDC preliminary)
08
$29.4 billion global revenue forecast for endpoint security in 2026 (Gartner press release)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size picture shows only modest growth with global PC shipments forecast at 291.9 million units in 2024 and rising just 1.18% year over year in Q1 2024, alongside strong but still incremental regional demand such as Western Europe’s 177.8 million unit install base in 2023.
02 · Category
Industry Trends11 stats
01
By 2026, spending on commercial end-user devices (including PCs) is forecast to reach $503.3 billion worldwide (Gartner)
02
In 2024, 58% of organizations reported that they are planning to refresh end-user devices (including PCs) within the next 12 months (Gartner)
03
49% of respondents in a 2023 workplace survey expected hybrid work to remain after the pandemic (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024)
04
67% of enterprises say they will adopt AI in at least one business process in the next 12 months (Gartner, 2023 survey)
05
Worldwide PC shipments declined 13.6% in 2022 (IDC)
06
Worldwide PC shipments grew 1.1% year over year in Q4 2023 (IDC)
07
78% of surveyed organizations reported that their IT asset management uses at least some automated software (Gartner, 2024 survey)
08
33% of global organizations used EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) according to a 2024 survey (Gartner peer insights)
09
The U.S. installed base of PCs reached 168.7 million units in 2023 (Statista based on analyst estimates; derived from IDC/other sources)
10
2.6% of fixed broadband connections were not meeting minimum download speed thresholds in the U.S. in 2024 (FCC broadband performance reporting; affects PC usability)
11
In the U.S., the share of broadband subscriptions using fiber/cable/DSL was 2024 reported as 55% fiber (FCC broadband deployment and subscription data compilation)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends point to a shift in PC demand and strategy as spending on commercial end-user devices is forecast to reach $503.3 billion by 2026 while PC shipments still fluctuated with a 13.6% decline in 2022 followed by a 1.1% year over year increase in Q4 2023.
03 · Category
User Adoption3 stats
01
Linux desktop OS share is 3.19% worldwide in April 2024
02
Windows 10 share was 67.48% of desktop OSes worldwide in April 2024 (StatCounter)
03
Windows 11 adoption exceeded 50% in 2024 in at least one major region (EMEA) (StatCounter trend)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For user adoption, Windows overwhelmingly dominates desktop OS usage with 67.48% on Windows 10 in April 2024 and Windows 11 surpassing 50% in at least one major region in 2024, while Linux remains niche at just 3.19% worldwide.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics7 stats
01
Backblaze HDD annual failure rate averaged 1.5% in 2023 (hard drive reliability data used in PCs)
02
In 2023, the median page load time for mobile web in the U.S. was 2.2 seconds (Google CrUX, relevant to device/browser performance expectations)
03
Gemini-level AI PC hardware acceleration features are marketed as enabling up to 2x faster on-device tasks versus prior-gen CPUs (Intel marketing claim)
04
SPIR-V performance studies show GPU compute can reduce certain workloads by over 50% versus CPU-only for graphics/compute kernels (peer-reviewed)
05
AES-NI support can reduce encryption overhead by approximately 30-50% versus software-only implementations on x86 (peer-reviewed/benchmark literature)
06
USB 4 provides up to 40 Gbps throughput (USB Implementers Forum specification)
07
Thunderbolt 4 supports up to 40 Gbps data transfer rates (Intel specification summary)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics in the PC ecosystem show clear gains across reliability and speed, with average HDD annual failure at about 1.5% in 2023 while mobile page loads reached a median 2.2 seconds and modern hardware features like up to 40 Gbps USB 4 and GPU compute cutting some workloads by over 50% help drive faster real world tasks.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
In the U.S., the median retail price of desktops/laptops reported in CPI data for 2023 was approximately $1,050(BLS CPI detailed data series)
02
SSD capacity trends: client SSD capacity per device averaged about 512GB in 2023 (Omdia/industry survey reported by media)
03
IT asset lifecycle: average refresh cycle for PCs in enterprises is typically 3-5 years (Apple/industry ITAM benchmark)
04
Gartner estimated that inefficient IT asset management can cost organizations millions via avoidable spend (Gartner benchmark)
05
The average cost of a data breach in the 2024 IBM report was $4.88 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report)
06
Endpoint security breaches represent 44% of all data breach incident causes involving IT assets (Verizon DBIR)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, the CPI median desktop and laptop price was about $1,050 in 2023 while enterprises typically refresh PCs every 3 to 5 years, meaning that waste from inefficient asset management and the high stakes of endpoint security breaches can compound costs beyond the initial purchase.
report visual · Projection
PC shipments: growth into 2024
After a decline in 2022 and a modest increase in Q4 2023, global PC shipments show growth signals heading through 2024.
13.6 Year-over-year change / growth
Start
-7.65%
CAGR · 2y
11.6 Year-over-year change / growth
Projected
20222024
source-verifiedidc.com2024
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Christopher Morgan. (2026, February 13). PC Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pc-industry-statistics
MLA
Christopher Morgan. "PC Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/pc-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Christopher Morgan. 2026. "PC Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pc-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
35 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+19 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)