HP Reports Sales That Miss Estimates With PC Slump Dragging On
(Bloomberg) -- HP Inc. reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates, battered by the ongoing slump in personal computer sales.
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Revenue declined 4.4% to $13.2 billion in the period ended Jan. 31, compared with analysts’ average projection of $13.6 billion. Profit, excluding some items, was 81 cents a share, in line with while Wall Street estimates.
The under-performance came from the company’s PC business. After two years of declining revenue in HP’s consumer PC unit, analysts projected a sales increase in the quarter. Instead, consumer sales slipped 1% to $2.76 billion and commercial PC revenue declined 5% to $6.05 billion, the Palo Alto, California-based company said Wednesday in a statement. Both units performed worse than expected. Printer division revenue was in line with estimates at $4.38 billion.
Still, the company expects PC sales to increase in 2024, said Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores in an interview. That will be driven by a rebound in corporate spending, new computers tied to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 11 software and some modest impact from artificial-intelligence ready PCs, he added.
HP maintained its previous outlook for the current year ending in October 2024. Free cash flow will be $3.1 billion to $3.6 billion. Adjusted profit is projected at $3.25 to $3.65 a share.
The shares fell 7.6% in extended trading after closing at $28.72 in New York. The stock has declined 4.6% this year.
The PC market has gone through a downturn “unparalleled in the industry’s recorded history” in recent years, analyst firm IDC wrote last month in a report, adding that holiday season shipments were the lowest since 2006. IDC, however, also expects that growth will finally return this year as “contractions appear to have bottomed out.”
HP repurchased about $500 million in shares during the quarter, and will continue to buy back stock this year, Lores said. Several tech companies including Zoom Video Communications Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. have recently announced stock buyback plans.
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