Editing Compaq (section)

==Competitors==
Compaq originally competed directly against IBM, manufacturing [[IBM PC compatible|computer systems]] equivalent with the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]], as well as [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]]. In the 1990s, as IBM's own PC division declined, Compaq faced other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers like [[Dell]], [[Packard Bell]], [[AST Research]], and [[Gateway, Inc.|Gateway 2000]].

By the mid-1990s, Compaq's price war had enabled it to overtake IBM and Apple, while other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers such as Packard Bell and AST were driven out from the market. Dell overtook Compaq and became the number-one supplier of PCs in 1999,<ref name="dellovertake99" /> which Compaq briefly regained in 2000 before being overtaken again by Dell in 2001.

At the time of their 2002 merger, Compaq and HP were the [[Market share of personal computer vendors|second and third]] largest PC manufacturers, so their combination made them number one. However, the combined HP-Compaq struggled and fell to second place behind Dell from 2003 to 2006. Due to Dell's struggles in late 2006, HP has led all PC vendors from 2007 to 2012.

During its existence as a division of HP, Compaq primarily competed against other budget-oriented personal computer series from manufacturers including [[Acer Inc.|Acer]], [[Lenovo]], and [[Toshiba]]. Most of Compaq's competitors except Dell were later acquired by bigger rivals like Acer (Gateway 2000 and Packard Bell) and Lenovo absorbing IBM's PC division. Since 2013, Lenovo has been the world leader for PCs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lenovo Statement on PC Industry Rankings |url=https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-statement-on-pc-industry-rankings/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Lenovo StoryHub |language=en-US}}</ref>