Worldwide Server Market Revenue Declined 11.6% YoY in 2Q19

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According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, vendor revenue in the worldwide server market declined 11.6% year over year to just over $20.0 billion during the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19). Worldwide server shipments declined 9.3% year over year to just under 2.7 million units in 2Q19.

After a torrid stretch of prolonged market growth that drove the server market to historic heights, the global server market declined for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2016. All classes of servers were impacted, with volume server revenue down 11.7% to $16.3 billion, while midrange server revenue declined 4.6% to $2.4 billion and high-end systems contracted by 20.8% to $1.3 billion.

"The second quarter saw the server market's first contraction in nine quarters, albeit against a very difficult compare from one year ago when the server market realized unprecedented growth," said Sebastian Lagana, research manager, Infrastructure Platforms and Technologies. "Irrespective of the difficult compare, factors impacting the market include a slowdown in purchasing from cloud providers and hyperscale customers, an off-cycle in the cyclical non-x86 market, as well as a slowdown from enterprises due to existing capacity slack and macroeconomic uncertainty."

Overall Server Market Standings, by Company

The number one position in the worldwide server market during 2Q19 was shared* by Dell Technologies and the combined HPE/New H3C Group with revenue shares of 19.0% and 18.0% respectively. Dell Technologies declined 13.0% year over year, while HPE/New H3C Group was down 3.6% year over year. The third position went to Inspur/Inspur Power Systems, which increased its revenue by 32.3% year over year. Lenovo and IBM tied* for the fourth position with revenue shares of 6.1%, and 5.9% respectively. Lenovo saw revenue decline by 21.8% year over year while IBM saw its revenue contract 27.4% year over year. The ODM Direct group of vendors accounted for 21.1% of total revenue and declined 22.9% year over year to $4.23 billion. Dell Technologies led the worldwide server market in terms of unit shipments, accounting for 17.8% of all units shipped during the quarter.

Top Server Market Findings

On a geographic basis, Canada was the fastest growing region in 2Q19 with 13.4% year-over-year revenue growth. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) grew 2.0% on aggregate while Japan declined 6.7% and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) contracted 8.1%. The United States was down 19.1% and Latin America contracted 34.2%. China saw its 2Q19 vendor revenues decline 8.7% year over year.

Revenue generated from x86 servers decreased 10.6% in 2Q19 to $18.4 billion. Non-x86 servers contracted 21.5% year over year to $1.6 billion.

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company.