Thursday, April 14, 2011

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL) Face Slow PC Sales

It is no surprise that personal computer sales were eventually start to slow in sales as consumers migrate to tablets, but it was a surprise that global personal computer sales were down 3.2 percent in the first quarter, according to IDC, putting pressure on sellers like Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL).

At issue this time around doesn't appear to be competition from tablets, but rather the weak economy and longer lifetimes of the PCs.

Bob O’Donnell, a program vice president at IDC, said in a statement, “Slower-than-expected commercial growth in the first quarter failed to offset the ongoing challenges in the consumer market. While it’s tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences, played equally significant roles.”

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is still the industry’s top seller, accounting for 18.9 percent of the global market, according to IDC. Dell Inc. was second with 12.8 percent, and Acer Inc. was third with 11.2 percent.

IDC had expected PC sales to increase 1.5 percent over last year.

Dell closed Wednesday at $15.42, gaining $0.72, or 4.90 percent. Hewlett-Packard closed at $41.13, up $0.05, or 0.12 percent.

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