Lenovo sold far more PCs than Apple in the cited 2026 market tables, but it did not grow faster: Apple’s shipments rose more quickly in the first quarter and continued to grow in the second, when Lenovo’s fell. The distinction matters if you are weighing the companies as businesses: market share measures scale, while year-over-year growth measures a change over a specific period.
Lenovo leads in shipment volume and market share
Gartner’s preliminary worldwide table estimates 62.8 million PC shipments in the first quarter of 2026, up 4% year over year. Lenovo shipped 16.645 million PCs, giving it 26.5% of the market. Apple shipped 6.684 million, or 10.6%. Lenovo was the clear scale leader; Apple ranked fourth in the cited worldwide vendor table. Gartner’s Q1 2026 estimate is preliminary and based on channel shipments, so final figures may change.
Lenovo’s own investor-relations figures also show its leading position, though the periods and measures differ. It reported record global PC share of 24.4% in its fiscal fourth quarter, 1.3 percentage points higher year over year, and described this as its largest lead in 15 years. In its Q3 FY25/26 results release, Lenovo reported 24.9% calendar-year share and 25.2% quarterly share. These company-reported figures should not be treated as directly interchangeable with Gartner’s quarterly vendor estimates.
Apple grew faster in the cited quarters
In Gartner’s Q1 comparison, Lenovo’s shipments grew 9.5% year over year, while Apple’s grew 12.7%. Apple therefore had the higher growth rate despite shipping fewer than half as many PCs. In Q2, the direction remained different: IDC figures reported by 9to5Mac put global shipments at 68.2 million, down 4.9% year over year. Lenovo shipments declined 2.1% and represented 24.4% share; Apple grew 10.1% and had 9.9% share. The Q2 figures are reported secondhand through 9to5Mac’s account of IDC data.
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| Period and source | Worldwide shipments | Lenovo | Apple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026, Gartner preliminary estimate | 62.8 million; +4% year over year | 16.645 million; 26.5% share; +9.5% | 6.684 million; 10.6% share; +12.7% |
| Q2 2026, IDC figures reported by 9to5Mac | 68.2 million; −4.9% year over year | 24.4% share; shipments −2.1% | 9.9% share; shipments +10.1% |
The percentages are year-over-year shipment changes for each quarter, not full-year growth rates. Q1 and Q2 also come from different research firms, and Gartner’s Q1 figure is preliminary. Read together, they support a straightforward conclusion: Lenovo remained much larger by share, while Apple grew faster in both cited quarters.
Why shipments rose as PC costs were expected to rise
Q1’s 4% market growth should not be read as proof of a comparable increase in underlying consumer demand. Gartner Research Principal Rishi Padhi said the growth was “artificially inflated”: vendors and channel distributors increased inventory ahead of expected Q2 price hikes linked to rapidly rising memory prices and DRAM and NAND flash costs. In other words, some PCs were shipped into the sales channel earlier than they otherwise might have been. Gartner’s explanation distinguishes those inventory builds from genuine end-user demand.
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That timing helps reconcile Q1 growth with the Q2 contraction in IDC’s reported figures: a pull-forward of channel inventory can boost shipments in one quarter without establishing sustained demand. The available figures do not quantify how much of either company’s change came from inventory timing, nor do they establish how component costs affected each vendor’s margins.
Product timing helps explain Apple’s gains
IDC attributed Apple’s share gain to the MacBook Neo launch. Its comment, reported by 9to5Mac, said Apple raised prices in line with the broader market but remained well positioned against rivals facing similar cost pressures. That provides a documented product-timing explanation for Apple’s gains; it does not show that the Neo alone caused the full increase or establish the product’s profitability.
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Lenovo’s product range includes business and consumer machines, such as the ThinkPad T14s Gen 7, which Lenovo describes as a light business notebook with a 58Wh battery and serviceability-by-design. That product is an example of Lenovo’s offering, not evidence that a particular model drove its reported shipment share. Product availability and pricing can vary by market and change over time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the comparison does—and does not—say about the companies
For a market-position comparison, Lenovo’s larger shipment base and leading share are the decisive facts. For momentum in the periods cited, Apple’s higher year-over-year growth is more relevant. Neither metric alone tells an investor which company is the better investment: shipment share does not measure profit, and a high quarterly growth rate does not establish that it will persist. The figures here describe PC shipments and share, not total company revenue, earnings, valuation or returns.
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