Research Firms Agree: PCs Shipments Were Down in Q4 (HPQ) (MSFT)

Once again, we have a discrepancy between data sets. But, one thing is clear: PC sales are down.

Gartner reported earlier that PC shipments worldwide were 82.6 million in Q413, down 6.9 percent. More on that report can be found here.

IDC was also out with new data, showing PC shipments of 82.2 million, down 5.6 percent over the same period last year.

Lenovo was the top shipper for both reports, with IDC showing growth of 9 percent to 15.28 million units. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) was second at 13.78 million units and Dell was third at 10.03 million units. The chart for IDC's data is reproduced below.

While it appears H-P is happy to cede the title of top-PC vendor, investors might keep an eye on Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). While the software giant is looking to make bigger waves in tablets, smartphones, and entertainment, lower PC shipments might still be a concern right now.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide PC Shipments, Fourth Quarter 2013 (Preliminary) (Units Shipments are in thousands)

Vendor	4Q13 Shipments	4Q13 Market Share	4Q12 Shipments	4Q12 Market Share	4Q13/4Q12 Growth
1. Lenovo	15,279	18.6%	14,013	16.1%	9.0%
2. HP	13,779	16.8%	15,059	17.3%	-8.5%
3. Dell	10,030	12.2%	9,482	10.9%	5.8%
4. Acer Group	5,540	6.7%	7,046	8.1%	-21.4%
5. ASUS	4,988	6.1%	5,610	6.4%	-11.1%
Others	32,595	39.6%	35,840	41.2%	-9.1%
Total	82,211	100.0%	87,049	100.0%	-5.6%