Software, AI PCs, and Networking Fuel 6% Growth in IT Distribution Sales

Sales through the IT distribution channel rose 6% year over year to $24.3 billion (€20.58 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2025, delivering the strongest quarterly performance ever recorded for North American distribution, according to the IDC North America Distribution Tracker (NADT), powered by GTDC.

The record-breaking quarter завершed a strong year for the channel. Full-year distribution revenues increased 6.2% in 2025, following flat performance in 2024 and a market downturn in 2023. IDC noted that the results underscore the expanding importance of distributors as enterprises modernize IT infrastructure, deploy AI-ready technologies, and recalibrate spending priorities.

Growth in Q4 was broad-based, with all major product categories posting year-over-year gains as enterprise demand stabilized and investment shifted toward software-centric and AI-enabled solutions.

Software sales climbed 10.0% year over year to $5.4 billion, reaching a record 22.3% share of total distribution revenues. The personal computing category grew 9.6%, driven largely by AI PCs, which represented 58.8% of category sales. Services returned to positive growth, increasing 2.2% year over year, highlighting the resilience of recurring and value-added offerings. IDC said software and services delivered the most consistent results, while hardware reflected deeper shifts in enterprise architecture strategies.

After several quarters of uneven demand, network infrastructure rebounded sharply, growing 17.5% year over year in Q4. Quarterly sales surpassed $2.8 billion (€2.37 billion) as enterprises invested in high-performance networking equipment designed to support AI workloads and next-generation architectures.

The components and semiconductors segment increased 6.1% year over year, reinforcing the role of distribution in enabling compute-intensive deployments. Memory revenues surged 28%, despite continued supply constraints, while graphics products remained a standout, with NVIDIA-related distribution revenues jumping 165.7% year over year, reflecting sustained demand for AI acceleration.

“IT spending continues to grow as organizations respond to core imperatives such as AI adoption, security management, and digital transformation,” said Ruth Flynn, Research Vice President, IDC Tracker & Data Products. “Even amid supply-chain and geopolitical uncertainty, distributors are playing a critical role in ensuring enterprises can access the technologies needed to modernize and scale.”