NEEDHAM, Mass., Jan. 29, 2025 – In the fourth quarter of 2024, Distributor Revenues grew 2.3% year-over-year, landing at $21.4 B, but this solid end to the year was not enough to outweigh weaker sales in earlier quarters, and 2024 ended down 1.1% year-over-year according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) North America Distribution Tracker (NADT). Product groups driving growth in Q4 included Software coming in at 9.7% year-over-year and Personal Computing which beat expectations and grew an impressive 16.2% year-over-year. The performance in these categories was enough to offset a year-over-year decline in Services of -5.5% and the anticipated decline in Network Infrastructure of -6.0% year-over-year.
“Software has seen growth steadily rise from 8.4% in Q2 to 9.7% in the second half of 2024 while other categories have seen larger shifts related to both post-pandemic as well as new market dynamics,” said Ruth Flynn, Research Vice President, IDC Tracker & Data Products. “PC growth surged in Q4 fueled by rising AI spending, commercial replacements, and ahead of potentially rising taxes while revenue from Network Infrastructure continued to decline from a 2023 surge and subsequent order reductions while new inventory is deployed.”
Personal Computing returned to normal distributor revenue levels in 2024 after a significant contraction in 2023. The $3.75B in sales recorded in Q4 continues to be fueled by AI PC configurations, which grew 141% year-over-year. The Top 5 Brands all enjoyed double digit year-over-year growth with HP Inc. leading the pack at 25.8%.
Software sales in Q4 came in at $4.55B. The two largest categories, Security Software and Storage Software, which account for over 40% of software sales, grew at 6.2% and 13.4% year-over-year, respectively. But it was the third largest software category, Physical and Virtual Computing Software, that really exhibited impressive growth in the fourth quarter coming in at 82.1% year-over-year. All of the top three vendors in this market enjoyed growth, but VMware and Citrix really stood out with 350% and 218% year-over-year growth respectively.
IDC’s North America Weekly Distribution Tracker and North America Monthly Distribution Tracker are built on the exclusive partnership between IDC and the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) and provides the industry’s most comprehensive view of technology distribution data and market trends in the U.S. and Canada. The data in these Trackers is actual sales data collected weekly from sales receipts across the largest distributors in North America for more than 1,000 brands over several years. This data is mapped to IDC’s taxonomy with over 200 categories organized into 13 distinct product groups with detailed product attributes across categories.
For more information about the North America Weekly and Monthly Distribution Trackers, powered by GTDC, please contact Ruth Flynn at rflynn@idc.com.
About IDC Trackers
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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 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, 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 tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.
About the GTDC
The Global Technology Distribution Council is the industry consortium representing the world’s leading tech distributors. GTDC members drive an estimated $150 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services, and solutions through diverse business channels. GTDC conferences support the development and expansion of strategic supply-chain partnerships that continually address the fast-changing marketplace needs of vendors, end customers, and distributors.