HP surprises with good news
Posted
Nov 18 2008, 12:50 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
With all the doom-and-gloom coming from the likes of Intel, Best Buy and Sun Microsystems these days, I wasn't expecting much from Hewlett-Packard. But the computer maker delivered surprisingly good news Tuesday, saying it would beat analyst expectations for the quarter that ended in October.
Investors seized upon the rare spot of sunshine, pushing HP shares up 12% today to the $33 mark. Analysts gushed over HP's management.
"They've got share gains, combined with very aggressive cost reduction," one analyst told Reuters."It's
very prudent management of their resources, and that's allowed them to
put out numbers that are ahead of the Street even in this economic
environment."
HP's preliminary net profit for the quarter was $1.03 per share -- three cents more than what the Street was looking for. Revenue was $33.6 billion, more than the $33.1 billion analysts had expected. (These are just preliminary numbers; HP will give full details next Monday).
It doesn't look like HP can continue side-stepping the economic crisis in the holiday quarter. The company's forecast for the quarter is below Street expectations. All signs show a big pullback in consumer spending this holiday, and HP will take a hit like every other company in the industry.
