PC sales trends to help HP, Apple
updated 11:00 am EDT, Wed April 12, 2006
Growing notebook sales
In a research note to clients, Bear Sterns analysts commented on the implications for major players in IDC's recently-released forecast for the notebook market, which include Apple and Hewlett-Packard, among others. IDC predicts a 20 percent CAGR (from 2005-2010) for consumer notebooks, versus 15 percent for corporate, which the firm believes will benefit HP inparticular due to its higher-margin consumer/retail notebook business, according to the Consumer Electronics Stock Blog. Apple and Gateway will also benefit from the shift, to a lesser extent. The note adds that "thin and light" laptops with 12 to 15-inch screens weighing more than four pounds ruled the category at around 85 percent of the worldwide mix in 2005. Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel processor weighs 5.6 pounds, boasting a thickness of one inch.
