Loren Loverde Growth Quotations

Hard times persist in the PC market, but vendors are working diligently to stimulate growth and the outlook has started to improve in the United States and Europe.

HP could have done better. If you look at their growth in the U.S., it was particularly slow.

Growth remains limited, but at least the market is moving in the right direction again. We believe the market is a lot healthier than it was three months ago, as inventories have come down and expectations for growth are more realistic.

Market growth ahead of forecasts in almost all regions reflects continuing strong demand.

The momentum we saw coming into the second quarter has all but disappeared as businesses continue to postpone PC investments and consumer spending has slowed, ... Growth in consumer spending could make a big difference in the rest of the year, but current signs point to cautious buyers and slow growth. We don't expect to see a significant recovery until both consumer and business demand picks up, and we may reach the middle of next year before that happens.

Following the shocks of 2001 and 2002 many people were impressed with the strength of the market in 2004 but cautious about the foundation and longevity of this growth. The fact that solid double-digit growth has continued through 2005 shows that the market recovery did not peak in 2004 as many expected but is still ongoing.

They keep inventory low. They have very responsive systems, and they have maintained their growth momentum for a long time. In fact, over this whole downturn, they've maintained positive unit growth.

Although growth has declined slightly from the second and third quarters, the market's resilience in the face of rising interest rates, high fuel prices, a weaker Euro, and other potential inhibitors puts the market in a great position to start 2006.

The drivers are still there for PCs, and that should sustain the healthy growth in our forecast. But one of the primary drivers for our forecast is also portable adoption.