Personal computer makers may be quietly encouraged by a new report indicating their market is stabilizing.

Fourth-quarter worldwide shipments grew by a modest 0.7 percent from a year ago, according to data released today from International Data Corp. During the fourth quarter, 70.6 million units were shipped, exceeding previous estimates of a 1.7 percent decline. The market dipped slightly overall, though, as shipments for the full year recorded a 0.2 percent decline.

Still, IDC itself was positive, saying that 2017 was the “most stable year” for the market since 2011, with 259.5 million units shipped overall.

HP Inc. retained its position as the market leader, recording 8.3 percent growth in the quarter. China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. ranked second, followed by Dell Technologies Inc., Apple Inc., AsusTek Computer Inc. and Acer Inc.

Jay Chou, a research manager with IDC’s Personal Computing Device Tracker division, said the fourth-quarter figures showed that the industry was making some “encouraging headway” despite the difficult environment for PCs, which are facing fierce competition from mobile computing devices.

“Enticed by a growing array of products that promise all-day battery life, high portability, and address emerging use cases that require more compute power, pockets of the consumer base are taking a serious look at these revamped PCs,” Chou said. “However, the overall PC market remains a challenging one.”

The marginal growth was not universal, however, as the U.S. market saw shipments fall compared with a year ago. Total shipments in the U.S. came to 16.5 million units, with HP leading.

PC makers will also take note of rival analyst firm Gartner Inc.’s own, separate market data, which shows that fourth-quarter shipments actually declined from the previous year. In its preliminary figures, Gartner said 71.6 million units were shipped in the quarter, representing a 2 percent decline from a year ago.

Image: Goumbik/Pixabay