In the first quarter of this year, Apple’s MacBook shipments fell by 40.5% YoY. The decline amounts to shipment of 2.8m fewer Macs than the same quarter a year prior. Its share of the PC market also declined by 1.4% – now sitting at a market share of 8.6%. More concerningly for Apple however, was the fact that Apple’s shipments decline was the largest out of those of its competitors including Dell and HP which both also saw double digit drops in shipments.

Market analysts have said that the decline is likely due to macroeconomic factors changing consumer spending habits, as well as further pull back from the spike in computer sales caused by the now-distant pandemic.

Is Apple losing its touch?

Last month, analysts at Goldman Sachs gave Apple its first “buy” rating from the firm in almost 6 years. Their reasoning was that the tech-giant is poised to grow its services business as a result of its growing user base.

Whether Apple’s falling Mac sales will affect the potential for this to happen remains to be seen, but it’s not a great indicator for the company’s market position – especially given that Apple’s shipments fell by more than its competitors.

The big picture

Despite the negative signal of the shipment dip, Apple had predicted that this might be the case. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, had said 2 months ago that shipments for all of its products would likely take a hit due to macroeconomic conditions affecting the market this year.

That being said, investors seem to have maintained a pretty positive outlook for the tech giant. Since the year began, its shares are up by more than 24% – despite falling by 1.6% on the news. Shipments are also likely to begin to recover near the end of the year, which would reaffirm Apple’s thus-far positive outlook.