Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Financial) reported its last earnings announcement as a combined company on Nov. 24. Results for the business continued to reflect weak personal computer sales and challenging industry competition in enterprise technology. Revenue for the full year was down 7% at $103.4 billion. EPS for the year was also lower, down 4% at $3.59.
HP Inc.
The HP Inc. Personal Systems and Printing business posted negative annual growth decline at 8%. For the fourth quarter, revenue was also down from the comparable quarter at $12.66 billion for a loss of 14%. HP Inc.’s Personal Systems and Printing business, now trading separately from the new Enterprise business, will be led by Dion Weisler. In the day following the earnings announcement, shares of HPQ were down 13.66%.
HP Enterprise
In 2015, HP Enterprise’s (HPE, Financial) business sales results were mixed. The total Enterprise business was down 5% to $51.2 billion for the year. Enterprise Group, however, showed some signs of strengthening at $27.9 billion with a 1% increase in revenue for the year. In the fourth quarter, all of HP Enterprise’s businesses gained with Enterprise Group up 5%, Services up 1% and Software up 13% from the comparable quarter. In the day following the earnings announcement, shares of HPE were up 3.33%.
In comments following the earnings release, Meg Whitman, CEO of HP Enterprise and chairman of HP Inc.’s board of directors, discussed her outlook for both companies and some of the competitive challenges for the technology industry overall.
As a new company, HP Enterprise has been popular among investment managers. Shares have traded actively since the Nov. 3 open, and investment manager Dodge & Cox now holds a significant position with 10.5% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Disclosure: I do not hold any shares of HPQ or HPE.
