PC sales could drop due to ongoing war in Ukraine, says report
Major PC manufacturers reportedly expect lower sales in the upcoming quarter and have told suppliers to lower production.
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Inflation and the war in Ukraine are affecting PC sale forecasts, according to a report by Nikkei Asia. The outlet cites several sources claiming that PC manufacturers are lowering forecasts for the upcoming quarters. HP, Dell, and Asus have reportedly told suppliers to lower production for the next six months.
An executive of a supplier to Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo spoke to Nikkei Asia about the potential drop in PC sales. “We started to receive notices from some clients to build less components and parts since the middle of February and we’ve been in constant communication with the clients in the past one month over the dynamic market situation since the war…Now one of their priorities is to carefully manage their inventory level at retail channels.”
Nikkei Asia predicts that PC shipments will drop by at least a single digit on the year over the next three months. This would be in contrast to thePC growth seen throughout the pandemic. It would also be a notable difference compared to recent forecasts.
“One month ago, our internal forecast still saw a mild growth from last year. But now we really don’t see that growth momentum, and for the next two quarters, we now revert to seeing a year-over-year decline,” said a manager at an unnamed U.S. PC maker to Nikkei Asia.
MSI Chairman and President Joseph Hsu echoed similar sentiments to investors, warning that the quarter covering April to June will be the lowest of the year due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Several major companies, including HP, Dell, Samsung, and Microsoft, havestopped or suspended new sales in Russia. Nikkei Asia reports that Acer, Asus, and MSI have also suspended sales in Russia, though there haven’t been any public statements announcing a stop of sales.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
