PC Giants Dell And HP Stumble As AI Hype Fails to Spark Market Recovery
While AI servers glisten, Wall Street has dimmed its view of the PC market. After missing Q3 expectations and slashing forecasts, markets sent Dell’s and HP’s stocks to the stone age — each plunging 12%. The outrage reflects limbo in the PC market, with customers holding off on upgrades — waiting for next-gen processors and GPUs with AI capabilities.
- Dell shed $13B in market value after revising its Q4 guidance, which was 4.2% below analyst expectations, while HP lost $3B following a profit outlook that also missed projections.
- Despite the 34% surge in Dell’s AI servers business, PC sales plummeted by 18% — weighed down by pennywise enterprises, weakened consumers, and a lagging tech refresh cycle.
Innovate faster: “The entire PC market is in a transition period,” notes an eMarketer tech analyst, awaiting “AI functionality which still isn’t that defined” (YF). His belief that features will “solidify in 2025” aligns with that of HP’s CEO, who expects a “more pronounced [tech refresh] in 2025” — when Canalys forecasts AI-capable PCs will account for 40% of global shipments. For now, this tepid outlook echoes upstream, where even Best Buy grapples with weakened electronics demand.
