The center of the yr is normally a sleepy season for PC {hardware} gross sales, and so summer season quarter shipments are inclined to sag a bit as individuals maintain off till vacation offers. Of course, 2025 has been something however typical. Instead of the same old slowdown, the latest numbers from Jon Peddie Research (JPR) present a shocking surge in CPU and GPU shipments. The wrongdoer? Fear of tariffs, in accordance with the analyst.
With new U.S. import tariffs hanging over tech imports, PC makers and customers alike went into buy-ahead mode. The end result was a markedly unseasonal rush on gaming {hardware} that pulled demand ahead, creating what could possibly be referred to as a “panic‑build quarter” within the consumer PC trade.
The numbers inform the story, as CPU shipments had been up about 8% quarter‑over‑quarter and 13% yr‑over‑yr. Desktop CPUs elevated their share versus laptops by 9% to seize 33% of the market share, a wholesome bump in a section that is been overshadowed by laptops in recent years.
The standout statistic was discrete desktop graphics cards, or add-in boards (AIBs), up a wild 27% quarter‑to‑quarter and 22% year‑over‑year, due in part to impressive new hardware from all three vendors. Nvidia’s grip tightened further, rising to 94% of the AIB market as we previously reported.
That’s not normal for Q2. Usually, shipments drift lower before rebounding at year’s end, but this time, tariffs flipped the script. Retailers and distributors didn’t want to get caught flat-footed if regulations suddenly raised costs, and enthusiasts picked up on the same cues. Nobody wanted to be the one paying 15–25% more for a graphics card a few months later, so they bought early, clearing stock and pushing prices higher at the high end.
JPR calls this “buying ahead of tariffs,” and it comes with a warning: demand that gets pulled forward can leave a hole later. Q3 and Q4 might look weaker because so many buyers have already opened their wallets.
This wasn’t just about economics, though; it was also about timing. Nvidia’s new entry- and mid-range Blackwell cards, as well as AMD’s new RDNA 4 GPUs, were filling shelves right as the tariff panic set in. Gamers who might have otherwise waited for the latest hardware to mature instead rushed to lock down fresh GPUs while they could.
Interestingly, Dr. Peddie notes that the midrange stayed relatively affordable as vendors leaned on it to keep shipments moving. Still, flagship GPUs saw rising prices and severe shortages, reflecting what we’ve seen with the GeForce RTX 5090, which is unobtanium (at least, at MSRP). The psychology is easy to trace: better to grab a new graphics card today than risk paying even more tomorrow.
Trump’s tariffs didn’t just bend economic charts; they bent gamer behavior. The 2025 mid-year surge appears more like panic buying than organic growth. Whether the past quarter turns out to be a quirky blip or the start of a volatile cycle will depend on how hard the comedown hits in Q3.
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