Personal computer shipments rose in the first quarter of the year as companies sped up deliveries to gear up for incoming tariffs.

Research firm Canalys estimates that shipment for PCs jumped more than 9% during the period, while data from IDC Research pegged the growth at nearly 5% from a year earlier. That equated to roughly 63 million units.

Companies worldwide are bracing for the knock on effects from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans, which threaten to suppress demand for computers and other electronics that largely rely on Asian countries for manufacturing.

“The market is clearly showing some level of pull-in in the first quarter this year as both vendors and end-users brace for the impact of US tariffs,” IDC wrote.

Concerns about a slowing economy and a decline in discretionary spending have pressured global markets in recent days, and pushed some consumers to stock up on products impacted by the levies. The PC market has been largely stagnant in recent years following a surge in purchases during the pandemic. In 2024, shipments increased 1% after two straight years of declines, according to IDC.

The latest round includes a 104% tariff on goods imported from China, home to hefty amounts of PC manufacturing. Vietnam, Thailand and India, which are responsible for a growing number of electronics production, also face import tariffs.

IDC’s Ryan Reith told CNBC that some original design manufacturers have already weighed holding back sending out additional PCs as the retaliatory tariffs went into effect.

“The real interesting stuff is in front of us,” Reith said. “It’s either going to be inventory backup, you keep sending something somewhere where no one’s buying it, and it builds up inventory, or nothing gets sent over here.”

Canalys said notebook shipments grew 10% during the period to more than 49 million units, while desktop shipments rose 8%. The U.S. saw the biggest increase, but shipments will likely ease as “inventory levels normalize” and higher prices kick in, the firm said.

IDC estimates that shipments from Apple jumped 14% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while ASUS shipments rose more than 11%. Shipments from Lenovo and HP — the top two PC makers — grew about 11% and 6%, respectively.

— CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report

WATCH: Lenovo Group CFO reacts to the Trump tariffs

Technology stocks surged Tuesday, with Apple and Nvidia rallying more than 10% after Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for some countries.

Stocks skyrocketed across the board following a multi-day selloff spurred by an aggressive tariff plan from the White House. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed more than 8% following the news, bouncing back after a rocky few trading sessions. Trump said Tuesday he would raise the tariff on China to 125%.

Apple surged more than 10%, coming off its worst four-day trading stretch since 2000, which resulted in Microsoft unseating it as the most valuable company and a $774 billion drop in market value. Apple recovered its status Tuesday.

The European Union on Wednesday presented a plan to boost its artificial intelligence industry and help it compete more aggressively with the U.S. and China, following criticisms from technology firms that its regulations are too cumbersome.

In a press release, the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, outlined its so-called “AI Continent Action Plan,” which aims to “transform Europe’s strong traditional industries and its exceptional talent pool into powerful engines of AI innovation and acceleration.”

Among the ways Europe plans to bolster regional AI developments are a commitment to build a network of AI factories and “gigafactories” and create specialized labs designed to improve the access of startups to high-quality training data.

The EU defines these “factories” as large facilities that house state-of-the-art chips needed to train and develop the most advanced AI models.

The bloc will also create a new AI Act Service Desk to help regional firms comply with its landmark AI law.

“The AI Act raises citizens’ trust in technology and provides investors and entrepreneurs with the legal certainty they need to scale up and deploy AI throughout Europe,” the Commission said, adding the AI Act Service Desk will “serve as the central point of contact and hub for information and guidance” on the rules.

The plan bears similarities to the U.K.’s AI Action Plan announced earlier this year. Like the EU, Britain committed to expand domestic AI infrastructure to aid developers.

The bloc’s landmark legislation known as the AI Act has proven particularly thorny for companies in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry.

The law regulates applications of AI based on the level of risk they pose to society — and in recent years it has been adapted to cover so-called “foundational” model makers such as OpenAI and French startup Mistral, much to the ire of some of the buzziest businesses in that space.

At a global AI summit in Paris earlier this year, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane told CNBC that European political and business leaders increasingly fear missing out on AI’s potential and want regulators to focus less on tackling risks associated with the technology.

“There’s almost this fork in the road, maybe even a tension right now between Europe at the EU level … and then some of the countries,” Lehane told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal in February. “They’re looking to maybe go in a little bit of a different direction that actually wants to embrace the innovation.”

The U.S. administration has also been critical of Europe over its treatment of American tech giants and fast-growing AI startups.

At the Paris AI summit in February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance took aim at Europe’s regulatory approach to AI, stressing that “we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation.”

“There is a real emphasis on easing the burden of regulation and removing barriers to innovation, which in part is likely to reflect some of the concerns that have been raised by the US government,” John Buyers, global head of AI at law firm Osborne Clarke, told CNBC over email.

“This isn’t only about the EU: If they are serious about eliminating legal uncertainties caused by interpretation of the EU’s AI Act, then this would be a real boost for AI developers and users in the UK and the US, as the AI Act applies to all AI used in the EU, regardless of where sourced.”