IDC warns smaller players may struggle as DRAM drought drags on
The memory chip crisis caused PC shipments to fall by 5 percent from last year in Q2 2026 as vendors struggled to secure supplies, and IDC warns smaller suppliers may be forced out of business if the situation continues.While rising component costs have already priced budget PCs out of existence, the market intelligence biz says the AI-driven shortage also pushed shipments down to 68.2 million units during the quarter spanning April, May, and June.This was the first decline after nine consecutive quarters of growth, with persistent memory chip shortages taking much of the blame. But other components such as storage, along with "geopolitical issues," have continued to weigh on the market, IDC says.
"The real story here is the disconnect between units and dollars: shipments are falling, but revenue is climbing because vendors are pushing through price increases faster than demand is dropping," said Jitesh Ubrani, IDC research director for consumer devices.
As The Register has previously noted, the largest vendors such as Lenovo are doing just fine thanks to their ability to negotiate supplies far in advance. The China-based tech biz saw revenue for PC and smart devices rise by 26 percent in its most recent earnings release.But IDC warns there's growing risk of vendor consolidation as brand behemoths such as Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo use their scale to secure memory supply and squeeze out smaller competitors. The giants are well positioned to take share from smaller rivals, potentially forcing weaker players into mergers or exits.Sustained cost pressures from the memory shortage could also significantly slow the broader PC upgrade cycle, despite IDC reporting growing interest in on-device AI processing among enterprise customers.
