Compaq Maintains Lead In Pc Sales

Compaq Computer Corp. is still No. 1 in personal computers, but International Business Machines Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. are gaining ground, according to a study released Monday.

Houston-based Compaq had 10 percent of the worldwide PC market in the first quarter, up 0.2 percent, says Dataquest, a market research firm based in San Jose, Calif.

But No. 2 IBM captured 8.5 percent of the market, up 1.3 percent from a year ago, and No. 4 Dell had 5 percent, up 1.4 percent.

The rapid growth of Dell, the Round Rock, Texas-based pioneer of selling computers by telephone, was the report’s standout performance.

In the first quarter, Dell posted a 61.8 percent growth rate based on the number of personal computers shipped the fifth consecutive quarter of growth exceeding 50 percent. Shipments rose from 584,000 units in the ‘96 quarter to 945,000 in ‘97.

“Dell continues to post incredible period-to-period growth rates,” said Bill Schaub, Dataquest’s computer group director.

Toshiba Corp. solidified its position as No. 5 in market share. It shipped 57 percent more PCs in the first quarter, compared with the year-ago period, and increased its market share from 3.4 percent to 4.7 percent.

The only laggard in the top 5 was No. 3 Packard Bell-NEC, whose market share declined from 6.6 percent to 5.9 percent.