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Intel Sees Improving PC Market Revenues

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After years of weakness, the PC market is finally showing some signs of health. Indeed, Intel Corp. (INTC) today raised its Q3 revenue forecast -- predicting revenues will be roughly $15.6 billion, up from a previous target of roughly $14.9 billion. The chip giant said the PC supply chain and the PC market overall are "seeing some signs" of improving demand.

That doesn't happy days are here again for PC makers and their suppliers. But companies like Dell, HP Inc. and Lenovo certainly should welcome the news. Although all three companies depend heavily on PC sales, each of the three businesses has been striving to diversify beyond PCs.

PC Market Friction and Forecasts

PC sales had slumped in recent years for a range of reasons -- including the rise of smartphones and tablets; poor reception to Windows 8 in 2011; and alternative form factors like Chromebooks. Still, many of the "newer" hardware trends (i.e., tablet sales) have also cooled off.

It's unclear if Intel's upbeat statements will inspire research firms to revise their PC market sales forecasts for 2016. IDC has been forecasting PC shipments to decline 7.3 percent in 2016, as of a June 2016 statement from the company.  The outlook continues to call for progressively smaller declines through 2017 followed by stable volume in 2018, the researcher said at the time.
Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.