The U.S.-based information technology (IT) research firm
International Data Corporation ('IDC') forecasts yet another year
of expected decline in the PC market. After witnessing a tough
2012, IDC predicts year-over-year shipment decline of 1.3% in
2013, as against the previous expectation of 2.8% growth. But the
projected decline is somewhat better than a decline of 3.7%
registered in 2012.
The year 2012 was a difficult one for the PC industry mostly due
to the growing popularity of tablets, slow adoption of
Microsoft Corp.
's (
MSFT
) Windows 8 and ongoing macro uncertainties, reflected by a soft
holiday season and a tough IT spending environment. IDC also
noticed a declining trend in the emerging markets as their
transformation into matured markets is limiting growth.
In 2012,
Hewlett-Packard Co.
(
HPQ
) occupied the leading position with respect to shipments and
market share. H-P was followed by Lenovo and
Dell Inc.
(
DELL
).
IDC expects most of the factors pulling down the PC market to
persist in 2013 but expects better statistics from the emerging
markets. Moreover, the research firm forecasts a better second
half of 2013 buoyed by potential wide acceptance of Win 8 and a
likely PC refresh cycle.
The declining PC market has forced Hewlett-Packard and Dell to
diversify. Recently, H-P introduced a host of new offerings
including a new BPO (business process outsourcing) solution,
three desktop printers and two media players. H-P is also trying
its luck with Slate 7, a tablet running on
Google Inc.
's (
GOOG
) Android platform.
Both H-P and Dell are also craving for a wider exposure in the
high-margin server, storage, networking and cloud computing
markets. For this purpose, the companies have acquired a number
of cloud-based software and hardware companies.
Currently, H-P has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) mainly due to its new
offerings, its decision to divest WebOS and re-launch its tablet.
On the other hand, Dell, which has filed for a leveraged buyout,
has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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