HP Inc. (HPQ) shares moved sharply lower Wednesday after the PC and peripherals maker posted weaker-than-expected second quarter earnings and a disappointing near-term profit outlook.
HP said a slump in consumer demand pulled revenues 4.1% lower from last year to an overall tally of $4.7 billion, missing the Street consensus forecast by around $1 billion. The group posted adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share, up 19.5% from last year and largely in-line with analysts' forecasts.
Personal systems revenues were down 3% from last year at $10 billion, while net sales from HP's consumer division slumped 20% as notebook sales fell 32% from last year's post-pandemic bump.
HP, which was added to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio earlier this year, said adjusted profits for the current quarter would come in between 79 cents and 89 cents per share, well shy of analysts' estimates of a $1.06 per tally, marking a full-year earnings range of between $4.02 and $4.12 per share.
Last week, Dell Technologies (DELL) also cautioned that weakening business and consumer demand would clip near-term sales, even after it posted record second quarter revenues of $26.43 billion.
“Disciplined pricing and cost management, combined with continued momentum in our key growth businesses, enabled us to deliver solid non-GAAP EPS growth while returning $1.3 billion to shareholders in Q3,” said CEO Enrique Lores. “
"We are taking clear actions to mitigate near-term market headwinds and further strengthen our business for the future," he added. "I’m confident in our ability to execute against our priorities to drive long-term sustainable growth and value creation.”
HP shares were marked 3.9% in early Wednesday trading to change hands at $29.90 each.
