Apple isn’t the IT market leader, we know that, but we have little doubt calling it a resistance leader. Once again, estimates indicate that the global PC market is down and again, those same estimates confirm Apple as a formidable exception to the rule.
Spectacular growth due to a coincidence of dates
This time the figures are provided by an IDC study, which indicates a decline in the global personal computer market of around 15% from the third quarter of 2021 to the present. All major companies have negative growth (note the resounding -27.8% from HP), while Apple goes from 8.2% to 13.5% market share:
It seems modest, but we are talking about an annual growth of 40%. This puts Apple in fourth place among IT companies in terms of sales, with Lenovo, HP and Dell occupying the podium above (although if this trend continues, Apple could eventually snatch these positions):
For a product line to sell 40% more year over year is spectacular, so much so that it is even strange. But if we look closely at the dates, there are reasons that justify this increase:
- Chip shortages pushed the average computer selling price (ASP) to $910, an amount not seen since 2004.
- In Q3 2021, we expected the first MacBook Pros with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, with their Intel chip predecessors still on sale. sales were lower because everyone was waiting for the change.
- Today, just after the third quarter of 2022, we already have a good range of laptops with an Apple Silicon chip, including the new MacBook Air with an M2 chip. No one is waiting for new computers anymore (MacBook Pros with the M2 Pro chip and above don’t change as much as last year).
Nobody wanted to manipulate anything: it is a coincidence of dates between established fiscal quarters
It’s not that IDC sought to match those dates on purpose to inflate Apple’s growth numbers: these statistics companies stick to the fiscal quarters of each year, and this time some sales and releases coincided and caused this huge result for Apple. Yes, we can evaluate it as a good performance of the transition to Apple Silicon and the launch of its new models, but not as an Apple which suddenly multiplies its activity for no reason.
The next quarter, which is Christmas, should also reflect good sales (and even more so if we finally see new product launches). Time will tell if Apple weathers this period of rampant inflation in good health, and for now we already have an earnings press conference scheduled for late October.
