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HP Inc.’s stock initially skidded more than 6% in extended trading Tuesday after the computing giant reported mixed results and offered a cautious outlook.
“While we expect another quarter of sequential growth in [the fourth quarter], the external environment has not improved as quickly as anticipated and we are moderating our expectations as a result,” HP Chief Executive Enrique Lores said in an interview.
For the fourth quarter, HP is guiding for adjusted earnings of 85 cents to 97 cents a share, while analysts polled by FactSet are forecasting 95 cents a share. Lores warned that PC pricing has not “recovered as quickly” as expected in what he called a challenging economy, but he said that the availability of AI products in late 2024 should “refresh” consumer and business sales.
HP
HPQ,
reported fiscal third-quarter net earnings of $766 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with net earnings of $1.12 billion, or $1.08 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were 86 cents a share.
Revenue declined 10% to $13.2 billion, compared with $14.65 billion a year ago. It was the third straight quarter HP missed analysts’ revenue estimates.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected on average net earnings of 86 cents a share on revenue of $13.4 billion.
Shares of HP have gone up 17% this year, while the S&P 500 index
SPX
has gained 17%.
“HP results provided a look into the bifurcation between AI and everything else in tech,” analyst Daniel Newman, CEO of the Futurum Group, said in an email. “While the company made solid sequential gains, it is still dealing with a macro softness that is likely to persist as tech investment runs to AI and on device AI monetization is showing a longer path to clarity.”
