Lenovo Q1 Revenue Jumps 20%, Beats Estimates as PC Market Recovers

An employee gestures next to a Lenovo logo at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing, China November 15, 2019. (Reuters)
An employee gestures next to a Lenovo logo at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing, China November 15, 2019. (Reuters)
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Lenovo Q1 Revenue Jumps 20%, Beats Estimates as PC Market Recovers

An employee gestures next to a Lenovo logo at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing, China November 15, 2019. (Reuters)
An employee gestures next to a Lenovo logo at Lenovo Tech World in Beijing, China November 15, 2019. (Reuters)

China's Lenovo Group reported a 20% rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday, as the global personal computer market showed signs of recovery after a two-year slump.

For the three months ending in June, the company's revenue rose to $15.4 billion, above the average estimate of $14.1 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

This marks a third consecutive quarter of revenue growth for Lenovo after it suffered five straight quarters of revenue declines amid the post-COVID slowdown.

The global personal computer market has shown signs of recovery, with IDC data indicating a return to growth during the first quarter of this year after nearly two years of declines.

For the three months ended June, global PC shipments rose by 3% to 64.9 million units. Lenovo maintained its position as the market leader, holding a 23% market share, according to IDC.

Lenovo's shares down 0.99% in Thursday afternoon trading.

Lenovo has diversified beyond its core PC business, expanding into software and services in recent years.

The company's infrastructure solutions group, which includes servers and other hardware, grew 65% to $3 billion in revenue. Its solutions and services group grew 10% to $1.9 billion for the quarter.

Currently its non-PC business already made by 47% of its revenue mix and company chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang told Reuters in an interview that this share will grow to 50% in the near future.

Yang said a resurgence in IT spending by businesses and AI-driven demand will boost the company's business lines across the board, including PCs, servers, and enterprise software.

The PC market is being fueled by the emerging trend of "AI PCs" - computers equipped with specialized chips optimized for AI software.

Lenovo, among the first to unveil AI PCs, launched two models in May. Yang projects 10% of Lenovo's shipped PCs will be AI PCs by year-end, potentially rising to 50-60% by 2026.

The AI boom coincides with rising China-US geopolitical tensions, including restrictions on advanced AI technology exports.

Yang said Lenovo was accustomed to such challenges and complies with regulations in all operating regions, enabling it to navigate these issues.

Lenovo's net income for the quarter was $243 million, above the average estimate of $222.94 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG.



Meta Welcomes Türkiye Lifting Access Ban on Instagram

Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Meta Welcomes Türkiye Lifting Access Ban on Instagram

Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Instagram app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday that it welcomed Türkiye's reopening of access to its Instagram social media platform and that it continues to talk to Turkish authorities about content and accounts that violate its policies.

"We are pleased to see that Instagram is back up and running in Türkiye...We remain in dialogue with the authorities and will continue to take action on any violating content and accounts," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"This includes removing content that violates our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy and applying newsworthy allowances where appropriate," the spokesperson said.

Türkiye restored access to Instagram on Saturday following a nine-day block, after Ankara said the US company agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government's concerns.

Türkiye blocked access to the platform on Aug. 2 for failing to comply with the country's "laws and rules".

The ban came after a top Turkish official accused the platform of blocking posts expressing condolences over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The ban triggered protests from users and small businesses, who reach their customers through the platform.

On Monday, a court in the city of Izmir ordered the arrest of a woman on charges of inciting hatred and insulting the president after she criticized the Instagram ban, broadcaster Haberturk and other media said.

Meta says that the company has not changed policies but agreed to review the accuracy of actions taken regarding policy-violating content and accounts in Türkiye in the days following Haniyeh's death.

It said that it applied newsworthy allowances to content posted by Turkish politicians as per its standard approach. Meta allows policy-violating content to be visible if it is newsworthy, or in the public interest.

Türkiye ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with more than 57 million users, following India, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia, according to data platform Statista.