The PC industry is unable to grow rapidly. Are Microsoft and Intel stuck in a quagmire?

January 14, 2013 To the surprise of some, the PC industry showed signs of recovery last year. But the more interesting question is how the PC industry will develop in the future.

Market research firm IDC released a report on Monday saying that global PC shipments fell 2.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, which also caused the overall global PC shipments to fall by about 2.1% in 2014. However, another market research company Gartner released a report saying that the global PC market grew 1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and PC shipments for the whole year only fell slightly.

Regardless of the differences between the two companies' reports, the most surprising outcome is that the PC market has shown signs of recovery, as the final statistics of both companies exceeded the forecasts made at the beginning of 2014.

This has also raised questions about how the PC industry will develop in the future. IDC pointed out in the report that the PC market warmed up in the fourth quarter, benefiting from the increased demand for Chromebooks and low-priced Windows during the holiday shopping season. However, it is worth noting that although the average selling price of Apple Mac is much higher than that of similar Windows products, Mac shipments surged 19% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. Apple also became the best performing PC manufacturer in the fourth quarter.

This has also put some pressure on Microsoft and Intel to launch the latest innovative products to boost PC sales. Intel released the Core M series processors in the fourth quarter of last year. These processors are designed for thinner products and consume less power. Next week, Microsoft will release a preview of Windows 10. This latest operating system is expected to be officially released at the end of this year.

Although the above products can make investors no longer hate PC products, it is important to remember that the PC industry is unlikely to grow as fast as in the past. The stock prices of Microsoft and Intel have both seen a significant increase in 2014, mainly because investors are optimistic that the two companies can diversify their revenues and continue to keep their PC-related businesses stable. Currently, the stock prices of Microsoft and Intel are 30% and 40% higher than the earnings in the next five years, respectively, which means that the stock prices of the two companies have no room to continue to rise.

Microsoft's stock price fell by $0.24, or 0.53%, to $46.36 in regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Tuesday. In the past 52 weeks, Microsoft's lowest stock price was $35.52 and its highest stock price was $50.05. Based on Tuesday's closing price, Microsoft's market value is approximately $382.1 billion. Intel's stock price fell by $0.10, or 0.27%, to $36.50 in regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Tuesday. In the past 52 weeks, Intel's lowest stock price was $23.50 and its highest stock price was $37.90.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.