HP captures lead in PC market from Dell

El Segundo (CA) - Having trailed Dell in worldwide PC sales for four years, Hewlett-Packard has surpassed its rival during the third quarter of this year. According to a report from iSuppli, HP now leads the ranking with a global market share of 16.5%, while Dell fell behind with 16.3%.

HP’s strong position comes as little surprise as Dell is struggling with reorganization of its company, finding new buyers and ways to keep its existing customer base happy with new service offerings. However, it is remarkable that HP is able to regain the lead after exactly four years : The company lost the #2 spot in Q3 2002, according to IDC, when it suffered declines in PC sales and Dell was able to grow despite a challenging economical environment. IDC estimated HP’s shipments in Q3 2001 at 5.3 million, which decreased to 5.1 million in Q3 2002. Dell was able to jump from 4.2 million to 5.2 million in the same time frame.

Now, HP swims on top of the wave and saw its shipments swell from 8.4 million in Q3 of 2005 to 9.9 million this year. Dell gained as well, but not quite as much : The company increased its unit numbers from 9.5 to 9.8 million. HP now leads the market with a 16.5%, Dell holds 16.3%.

iSuppli’s numbers are in line with previous reports, for example from IDC. The market research firm estimated HP shipments at 9.83 million, while Dell came in around 9.80 million. IDC estimated the total growth of the market at 7.9%, while iSuppli is a bit more optimistic at 9.5%.

At this time, it may be too early to say, if HP has regained the lead as the shipment numbers are very close and basically represent a statistical tie. Going forward, business strategies will play a significant role in this ranking : HP is a much more diversified company whose PC revenues represent only 33% of the firm’s sales, while 51% of Dell’s revenues depend on PCs.