IT Distribution Records Strong Revenue Growth in Q1 Fueled by Personal Computing Purchases Amidst Tariff Uncertainty

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Sales through distribution in North America posted a second consecutive quarter of growth in the first quarter of 2025. Distributor Revenues came in at $19.9B which is a 7.6% increase year-over-year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) North America Distribution Track e r  (NADT). Personal Computing grew 27.8% year-over-year, far exceeding expectations, while Software came in with a solid 13.2% year-over-year growth.

"The primary catalyst for the growth in personal computing devices was the heightened uncertainty around tariff negotiations between the USA and trading partners." said Ruth Flynn, research vice president, IDC Tracker & Data Products. “Despite risks to economic growth from rising tariffs, channels and commercial segments accelerated buying ahead of future cost increases.”

Other product categories were stable, with revenue up or down roughly a percent. Services had a modest year-over-year decline of -1.6% in 2025Q1, Network Infrastructure grew 1% year-over-year and AV rounded out the top five product categories with a small year-over-year decline of -0.9%.

The personal computing product group recorded $4.07B in sales in 2025Q1 with most form factors enjoying double digit growth. Detachable Tablets were the exception, declining -5.4% year-over-year. Notebooks grew 26.9% year-over-year, Desktops grew 35.3% year-over-year and Workstations grew 49.3% year-over-year, as the channel scrambled to pull in as much product as possible before potential reciprocal tariffs are implemented. It is unclear how long these elevated sales levels will persist, and market contraction should be expected in the second half of 2025.

Software sales, which are not impacted by tariffs, continue to be very strong through distribution, coming in at $4.5B. The top three categories, Storage Software, Security Software and Physical and Virtual Computing Software each grew by double digits. These categories all roll up into the System Infrastructure Software market, which accounted for over 55% of software sales in 2025Q1.

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.