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Lenovo has officially wrestled the crown away from Hewlett-Packard to become the largest PC maker in the world, Gartner reported Wednesday.
According to the firm, Lenovo was able to nab an industry-leading 15.7 percent in worldwide market share during the third quarter, just enough to slip past HP, which came in at 15.5 percent. It marks the first time since the third quarter of 2006 that HP hasn't come out on top.
Fellow analyst firm IDC, however, quickly countered Gartner's analysis, still placing HP at the top of the list with 15.9 percent worldwide share. HP told CRN it considers IDC's numbers to be a more accurate representation.
[Related: Lenovo Puts A New 'Twist' On ThinkPad, Intros Windows 8 Convertible Family]
"The Gartner numbers only represent a portion of the PC marketplace. IDC which does represent the entire marketplace ranks HP as the leader in worldwide PC shipments," an HP spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "IDC includes workstations in their data, so we consider this a more complete view of the market."
Gartner, for its part, attributed Lenovo's growth to its aggressive pricing models, particularly within the enterprise market.
"In addition to acquiring other vendors, Lenovo has also taken an aggressive position on pricing, especially in the professional market," read Gartner's report. "As a result, Lenovo has achieved significant market share gains over the last two years, exceeding regional average growth rates across all regions."
Gartner's report made note of HP's recent restructuring efforts, which have been in high gear since the company first toyed with the idea of spinning off its Personal Systems Group last August. Though the idea was ultimately abandoned, CEO Meg Whitman still refers to the PC maker as being in the midst of a major "turnaround," with Gartner suggesting the PC maker is attempting to strike "a good balance between market share gain and margin protection."
Losing the PC throne to Lenovo represents the latest in a series of blows that have been dealt to HP over the past few months. In September, Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek downgraded HP shares from "Hold" to "Underperform," cutting his target price for HP shares from $17 to $14.
Misek also expressed doubt in HP's efforts to carve a space for itself in the competitive mobile market.
"While the move makes sense strategically, we see it as a high risk move," Misek said in the research note. "On top of adding costs and working capital burdens to an already stressed balance sheet, there could be additional write-offs."
