Apple’s Mac shipments fell in the third quarter, but figures from market research firms show that Apple is weathering a difficult period for computer makers far better than its biggest rivals.
Mac shipments dropped about 11% in the July-through-September period, but that is barely a blip compared to huge declines from Lenovo, HP and Dell. The result is that PC shipments worldwide plunged about 20% year over year.
Availability of the iPhone 18 Pro series as well as new Macs and iPads could take a hit this fall. Apple admitted its supply chain is facing challenges.
The result could be lengthy wait times for this fall’s hottest new models. And an analyst warned that there could be price hikes for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, too.
Apple’s boom continues. It just reported that revenue during its most recent financial quarter grew 16% year over year. That’s the ninth quarter in a row of revenue increases, and the third of double-digit increases.
“Today, Apple is proud to report our strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, and in every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement.
The PC industry just posted its worst quarter in two years, but the Mac is having a moment. New shipment data shows Mac sales grew by double digits at a time when every other big computer maker was tanking. Unsurprisingly, the reason comes down to the global chip shortage that’s wrecking the whole industry.
This matters because the same memory crunch dragging down Dell, HP and Lenovo is pushing the price up for your next Mac. Apple seems to be weathering the storm better than anyone else, but it isn’t immune, and the discount window for your next Apple hardware could be closing fast.
Apple shipped more Macs in the first three months of 2026 than it has in any quarter going back years. And its share of the world PC market reached a milestone, too.
It’s surely no coincidence this occurred in the quarter the the MacBook Neo launched — Apple’s first entry-level notebook is a huge hit.
The Mac had a brilliant 2025, with shipments increasing 16.4% year over year. That’s a growth rate none of the computer’s top rivals could match.
It marks the third straight year of annual increases. And the rate could have been higher if Apple didn’t push back the launch of some much-anticipated products.
Mac shipments increased 21.4% in the second quarter of 2025, according to a market research firm. Apple has shown strong growth in shipments every quarter since the launch of multiple M4-powered Mac models began last autumn, and the new chip has helped grow the company’s share of the global market.
Most of the top Windows makers also saw growth last quarter, but none can match Apple’s pace.
Mac shipments continue a steady upward trend, increasing 14.1% year over year during the first quarter of 2025, according to a market research firm. While three PC makers sell more units than Apple, none can match Cupertino’s annual growth rate.
But the analysts note that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on computers brought into the United States will have “a direct inflationary impact” later in the year, potentially cooling demand for computers of all types.
With Microsoft winding down Windows 10, many companies could take the opportunity to switch to macOS, according to an industry analyst.
The prediction comes as U.S. Mac sales are already spiking, up a whopping 25.9% in the fourth quarter. This made Apple the third-largest computer maker in the U.S. market.
Mac shipments in the last three months of 2024 rose sharply, hitting 17.3% in year-over-year growth according to a market research firm. Apple enjoyed a better growth rate than any of its top rivals, some of which saw their shipments decline.
The company also experienced growth in Mac shipments for the entire year compared to 2023.
While the third quarter of 2024 brought weak Mac shipments, Apple did well earlier in the year, and a return to growth is expected soon, according to a market-research firm.
Overall, the July-through-September period was anemic for the whole PC market, not just Apple.
No PC maker is growing faster than Apple. Mac shipments increased 20.8% year over year in Q2, according to market analysts. That’s a growth rate that dwarfs larger rivals.
It’s the second quarter in a row of double-digit growth for Apple.
Shipments of Macs plunged 22.4% in 2023, according to a market research firm. While every PC maker also had a weak year, Apple did a bit worse than its rivals.
The drop in macOS demand probably explains why Apple launched the M3 family of processors in the fall, less than a year after the release of their predecessors.
Apple shipped 7.2 million Macs in the third quarter of 2023, according to a market analysis firm. That’s a whopping 23% decrease from the previous year, but Q3 2022 was one of the best quarters Apple has ever had for a bad reason.
Ignoring last year’s unusual quarter, Mac shipments are holding steady despite the end of the pandemic. Windows PC makers certainly can’t say that.
Apple is once again the lone bright spot in the global PC industry. Mac shipments grew by double digits year over year while makers of Windows machines all saw their shipments decline, according to a market research firm.
Mac’s return to growth in Q2 must be a relief to CEO Tim Cook as Q1 shipments were down dramatically.
Don’t expect record-breaking profits when Apple reveals its financial results from the first three months of 2023. Quite the opposite. Analysts are predicting that the company’s revenue and profits will be down when compared to the same quarter of 2022.
If true, this will be the second quarter in a row in which global problems cut into Apple’s bottom line.
Mac shipments declined a jaw-dropping 41% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, according to a market-analysis firm. It seems Apple finally joined other PC makers in seeing reduced shipments of traditional computers.
Apple shipped a record number of MacBooks during the September quarter, a whopping 26% increase over the same period of 2021, according to a market-analysis firm. That’s more than the company has ever shipped in a single quarter.
At the same time, Windows notebook-makers saw their shipments decline.
Apple pulled in record revenue during the July-through-September quarter: $90.1 billion, an increase of 8% over the same period of last year. That’s $1.29 in earnings per share, a 4% annual bump. Most of Apple’s signature products experienced revenue growth.
“Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO.
Shipments of MacBooks, iMacs and other Macs during the third quarter of 2022 grew 40.2% year-over-year.
Windows PC makers shipments all dropped in the same time period, so Apple’s share of global market for traditional computers increased substantially.
Mac shipments dropped a whopping 20% in the June quarter, according to a market-research firm. But it wasn’t just Apple struggling – shipments of all the top PC-makers declined.
COVID lockdowns in China this spring hurt production for all these companies, lowering the number of computers they could ship to consumers.
Apple shipped more computers in the first three months of 2022 than any of its rivals, according to a market research firm. Increasing Mac sales helped Apple take the top spot away from Lenovo in the global market for laptops, desktops and tablets.
Apple could have done even better but supply constraints cut into the number of iPads it was able to ship.
The first three months of 2022 were good to Apple, with revenue setting a quarterly record. But the company warned on Thursday that problems getting components and assembling products will take a nasty chunk out of revenue for the current quarter. The hit will to be between $4 billion and $8 billion.
But there’s also plenty of good news in from the conference call CEO Tim Cook had with investors after Apple’s March quarter results were announced.
Apple brought in $97.3 billion in revenue during the January-to-March period. That’s a new record for March-quarter revenue. And it’s an increase of 9% over the same period of 2021.
The company also set March-quarter records for iPhone, Mac, wearables and more.
Mac shipments grew 4.3% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022. But its biggest rivals dropped — HP shipments plunged almost 18%, for example.
The pandemic boom in computer sales is slowing, but it’s affecting Apple less.