Lenovo Tops 2021 Global Notebook PC Shipments as Volumes Grow 19 Percent: Strategy Analytics

Lenovo was the top notebook PC vendor in 2021 in terms of annual global shipments, even as the market registered 19 percent growth in volumes on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, as per a new report. The report says that 268 million units were shipped in 2021. The annual growth has been attributed to the strong commercial demand for notebook PCs in the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q4 2021). However, the market saw a 1 percent negative growth on YoY basis in Q4 2021 when compared to Q4 2020.

As per a report by Strategy Analytics (via Businesswire), annual global notebook PC shipments in 2021 registered a growth of 19 percent due to strong demand aided by Windows 11 performance and growth of DaaS (Device-as-a-Service) and huge holiday discounts for SMBs as well as consumers. The report also says that the industry prioritised notebook PC production in order to keep up with hybrid working needs due to COVID-19. It also cautions of supply issues as well as increased freight and manufacturing costs in 2022.

Meanwhile, Q4 2021 saw a marginal decline in notebook PC shipments when compared to Q4 2020. Chirag Upadhyay, Industry analyst said that the Q4 2021 was another strong quarter for notebooks. Apart from continued demand and attractive price offerings, fulfillment of delayed orders from Q3 2021 due to component shortage and supply issues in the fourth quarter also helped post strong numbers.

“As we witnessed a slowdown in Chromebook demand in the second half of 2021, Windows demand took off in Q4 2021. Windows 11 enterprise upgrades gave Windows notebooks strong momentum during the quarter across all regions. Microsoft also attracted top PC vendors with the recently launched Window 11 SE for K-8 education, targeting the surge in Chrome market share during the pandemic. Windows also remained the popular choice for consumers as gaming notebook PC demand continued during holiday season,” said Eric Smith, Director – Connected Computing.

If we look at the individual performance of notebook PC vendors, Lenovo shipped (sell-in) 16.2 million units in Q4 2021 (calendar year), grabbing 24 percent of market share and registering a negative growth of 9 percent. The company shipped 63.4 million units in the whole year registering a 16 percent growth on YoY basis with 24 percent market share.

With 21 percent share, HP maintained the second position as shipments reached 14.5 million units in Q4 2021, representing a negative growth of 4 percent YoY. However, it grabbed 22 percent market share and registered a 14 percent growth on YoY basis with 59 million shipments in 2021. The third place went to Dell, which registered 14 percent growth in Q4 2021 with 13.2 million shipments and 19 percent share. Annually, Dell shipped 45.7 million units grabbing 17 percent of market share and registering 29 percent annual growth.

Apple was on the fourth place with 6.6 million shipments, 10 percent market share and 11 percent growth in Q4 2021. Annually, Apple shipped 24.4 million units grabbing 9 percent share representing 26 percent growth. Acer completed the top 5 list with 5.2 million units shipment, 8 percent share and a negative growth of 6 percent in Q4 2021. However, it shipped 20.1 million units annually registering 7 percent share and 23 percent YoY growth.