Apple's U.S. Market Share Approaches 10%

Gartner has published a preliminary report on U.S. and worldwide PC shipments for the third quarter of 2008. The report pegs Apple's share of quarterly U.S. PC shipments at 9.5%, up from 7.7% in the third quarter of 2007. Apple's U.S. shipments increased 29.4% year-over-year, far outpacing the total industry shipment growth of 4.6%.


Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q08
Apple traditionally demonstrates particularly solid performance in the back-to-school third quarter due to their strong presence in the education market. While this typically results in a drop in market share for the fourth quarter of each calendar year, Apple's overall trend is clearly positive.


Apple's U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-3Q08 (Gartner)
Despite continued strong performance in the U.S. market, Apple has yet to crack the top five vendors for worldwide shipments. Toshiba continues to hold the fifth spot with a 4.6% market share in a worldwide PC market that experienced 15% growth in shipments year-over-year.