Here are the IDC numbers and the article from the WSJ. Sorry about the formatting:
European and U.S. Demand Helps
PC Sales Accelerate in 4th Quarter
By JIM CARLTON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
World-wide personal computer shipments accelerated strongly in the fourth
quarter as robust demand in Europe and the U.S. continued to power the
industry's growth, according to reports by two major market-research
firms.
The reports by International Data Corp. and Gartner Group's Dataquest
unit reinforce anecdotal evidence that the industry has regained its footing
after stumbling earlier in 1998 because of inventory problems and weak
Asian demand.
Dell Dominates PC Growth
Preliminary world-wide PC vendor shipments for 1998, in thousands of units:
1998
1997
Company
Shipments
Market
share
Shipments
Market
share
% chg.
Compaq
12,789
13.8%
10,596
13.1%
+20.7%
IBM
7,617
8.2
6,958
8.6
+ 9.5
Dell
7,361
7.9
4,464
5.5
+64.9
Hewlett-Packard
5,391
5.8
4,297
5.3
+25.5
Packard Bell
NEC
3,950
4.3
4,116
5.1
- 4.0
Others
55,816
60.1
51,150
63.5
+ 9.1
Total Market
92,925
100.0
80,608
100.0
+15.3
Note: Figures don't include server PCs
Source: Dataquest
According to Dataquest, based in San Jose, Calif., PC shipments increased
17.7% from the same quarter a year ago to a record 92.9 million units.
IDC, based in Framingham, Mass., estimated the growth at 15.4%. The
two researchers frequently vary in their estimates because they use different
methodologies.
Shipments clearly picked up momentum in the final quarter of 1998. For
the entire year, world-wide PC shipments rose 15.3%, according to
Dataquest, and 12.1%, according to IDC. The two researchers agreed that
strong demand from both the corporate and home markets fueled the
industry's acceleration at year's end.
"The world growth is healthy, and it's due mainly to a robust U.S. and
Europe," said Bill Schaub, Dataquest's vice president of personal
computing. "The rest of the world is floundering."
But even though shipments were up strongly, PC makers' revenues didn't
follow suit because of falling prices. Relatively few PC makers enjoyed
robust profits, with the exception of direct-sales specialists such as Dell
Computer Corp. and industry leaders such as Compaq Computer Corp.
Europe's growth was the strongest during the quarter, according to IDC,
reflecting a year-long spurt fueled by the continent's recovery from an
economic slump. The sales growth in the U.S. was driven in part by
sub-$1,000 PCs bought by consumers seeking to use the Internet.
"The Internet has really become the killer function to have," said Bruce
Stephen, IDC's vice president of PC research.
As has been the case for several quarters, Compaq remained the biggest
shipper of personal computers both world-wide and in the U.S. The
Houston-based giant increased its global shipments 17% in the quarter,
according to IDC, as the company benefited from a strong showing in the
market for sub-$1,000 computers.
However, No. 2 International Business Machines Corp. is facing a serious
challenge for that spot from fast-growing Dell. The direct-sales vendor,
which is the third-biggest PC maker, increased its shipments 56% in the
quarter while IBM's rose 14%, according to IDC. As a result, Dell finished
the year having shipped just 256,000 fewer PCs than IBM, according to
Dataquest.
"Dell continues to be the Michael Jordan of the PC industry," IDC's Mr.
Stephen said. "They just play in a zone that nobody else does."
Hewlett-Packard Co., ranked fourth-biggest PC shipper in the world by
both research companies, slowed down in the fourth quarter as its
shipments increased by just 14%, according to IDC. That is down from an
overall pace in 1998 of 26%, Dataquest said. Analysts said the Palo Alto,
Calif., computer maker encountered stiff competition in the corporate
market from Dell and others.
Dataquest reported that Packard Bell NEC Inc. was toppled from its
position as the world's fifth-biggest vendor by upstart Gateway Inc., for the
second quarter in a row. Dataquest did not have quarterly figures for
Packard Bell, but the IDC report, which still lists Packard Bell at No. 5,
estimates that company's shipments fell 3% in the quarter from a year ago.
Once among the fastest-growing PC companies, Packard Bell has been
forced to streamline its operations amid fierce competition in its big retail
market. Other market studies showed Packard Bell performing well in the
sub-$1,000 market during the quarter, however.
Looking ahead, analysts at both Dataquest and IDC foresee a continued
double-digit increase in the world's PC market this year. "We think there is
reason to believe there is more [world-wide] demand," Mr. Schaub said.
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