Compaq Tops Dataquest's Worldwide PC Shipment List for Sixth Consecutive Quarter; HP Joins Elite Group of PC Makers to Ship More than 500,000 PCs in One Quarter

Business Wire, August 7, 1995

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 1995--During the second quarter this year, Compaq Computer kept its stranglehold on the top spot among PC vendors since wresting it from long-time worldwide PC market leaders IBM and Apple Computer in the first quarter of 1994, according to Dataquest's preliminary worldwide PC quarterly statistics. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard became the sixth PC maker to ship more than 500,000 PCs in a single quarter.

"Since this was the first time Hewlett-Packard was aided by significant shipments into the home market, Dataquest expects HP to enjoy exceptional growth rates in the future as it continues to penetrate the home market," said Philippe de Marcillac, vice president and chief analyst, PC Workgroup. "The PC market vendors appear to have reached an equilibrium as the clone market is growing at approximately the same pace as the name brands."

Despite the near equal growth among clone and name-brand vendors in 1995, regional growth estimates reveal large differences in growth rates. Through 1994, the U.S. market was the significant engine driving growth, but in 1995, Dataquest has observed a dynamic shift as the Japanese, Asian, and European PC markets have grown at faster rates than that of the U.S. market.

Compaq has outpaced all rivals by nearly 400,000 shipments and is well positioned to lead the market at year-end for the second consecutive year. While Compaq, IBM, Apple, and Packard Bell all grew near the pace of the rest of the market, NEC and HP are making significant gains (see Table 1).

Table 1 Preliminary Top Six PC Vendors by Worldwide Shipment Estimates in the Second Quarter of 1995 (Thousands of Units) -0-