PC Shipments Surge Despite Ongoing RAM Shortages

The PC market is gearing up for a challenging year, yet shipments have surprisingly exceeded expectations during the recent holiday quarter. Reports indicate that shipments rose nearly 10 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, totaling 76.4 million units.

The end of Windows 10 support from Microsoft likely contributed to this boost in PC shipments. Additionally, manufacturers have been proactively advancing their inventory to mitigate the impact of potential tariffs and the ongoing global memory shortage.

“While the holiday season usually sees a spike in demand, the surge in late 2025 was further intensified by emerging memory shortages, prompting buyers and brands to secure inventory ahead of expected price hikes in 2026,” explains a market analyst.

Recent months have seen a significant rise in RAM and NAND/SSD prices, driven by demand from AI data centers. Companies like Lenovo and HP have been stockpiling memory, but these reserves are expected to deplete in the coming months, leading to higher prices and possible changes in PC configurations.

“Beyond the obvious pressure on system prices, which some manufacturers have already announced, we may also see a general reduction in PC memory specifications to conserve existing inventory,” notes a research vice president. “The upcoming year is poised to be extremely volatile.”

Looking ahead, average selling prices for PCs are anticipated to increase in 2026 as manufacturers focus on midrange and premium systems to counterbalance the rising memory costs. This all points to an AI-driven upheaval in the PC market throughout 2026. If you’re considering a new PC, it might be wise to make your purchase sooner rather than later this year.