Has the PC Industry Bottomed Out?

According to data released by Gartner this week, global PC shipments declined by 1.7% in the first quarter of 2014. While a few years ago, this number would have been considered catastropic, now it's actually good news. As a matter of fact, it's the smallest decline the PC industry has suffered since early 2012.

According to Gartner, the end of Windows XP support in early April has boosted replacement buys and could continue to do so in the current quarter. While it's unlikely that PC sales will suddenly start growing again, the trend of the past few quarters suggests that the industry may finally have bottomed out and sales might stabilize around the current level.