Lenovo Takes Top PC Manufacturer Spot over HP in Q3 Market Share

Add this to HP’s long list of woes: the world’s No. 1 computer maker – isn’t. According to research firm Gartner, HP ceded the top spot to Lenovo (if only barely) in recent months. HP is still tops in the eyes of other research firms, but Lenovo is threatening its lead there, too.

HP’s drop from the No. 1 position in Gartner’s PC maker list is its first since 2006. Gartner bases its assessment on the company’s third-quarter shipments, which put HP with a global market share of 15.5 percent. Lenovo now has the top spot at 15.7 percent. Another research firm, IDC, puts HP still in the lead with 15.9 percent market share. IDC and Gartner agree on the 15.7 percent figure for Lenovo.

PCs are slow, thanks to consumer interest in tablets and smartphones, but there’s still serious money to be made in PCs and it is increasingly China-based Lenovo and Taiwan-based Acer who are making it. Dell has publicly retreated from its PC-centric model and HP has had a string of leadership problems. It’s another blow to HP CEO Meg Whitman, who has received some praise for her candor with the public about the company’s disappointing progress in her turnaround plan.