Computer market in the US at a standstill due to tariffs

In the United States, computers are a collateral victim of tariffs. According to the latest data from analyst firm IDC, PC demand in the country has cooled significantly from its peak in the first quarter of 2025. In the second quarter, the sector showed flat annual growth in the country, at 0%, compared to 9% for the rest of the world. "We expected the US market to cool given the inventory buildup at the beginning of the year, but what we're seeing could signal a slowdown in US computer demand in anticipation of import tariffs," said Jean Philippe Bouchard, vice president of research at IDC.

Analysts say the reason for the slowdown is that U.S. suppliers produced and sold more PCs than expected to offset the looming tariffs, and now that the market expects tariffs to rise, computer demand is expected to decline in the second half of the year.

“Despite a flat PC market in the U.S., the rest of the world has demonstrated interest in PCs fueled by an aging device base and a steady transition to Windows 11,” Bouchard adds.

IDC reports that global computer shipments in the second quarter of 2025 grew 6.5% year-over-year, with global volumes reaching 68.4 million shipments. Lenovo continues to be the world's leading manufacturer (24.8% of the market), followed by HP (20.7%), Dell (14.3%), Apple (9.1%), and Asus (7.2%). Apple saw the strongest growth in the quarter, selling 21.4% more computers than in the same period in 2024.