HP misses first-quarter revenue estimates on sluggish demand in PC market By Reuters

By Jaspreet Singh

(Reuters) -HP Inc missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, marking a seventh straight quarter of decline, driven by sluggish demand in the personal computers (PC) market as customers delay system upgrades.

Shares of HP, which is the second-largest PC vendor in the world after China’s Lenovo Group (OTC:), fell more than 3% in extended trading.

Enterprise customers are keeping a tight leash on their budgets and spending cautiously in the wake of an uncertain economy, hitting demand for companies that provide personal computing devices such as HP Inc (NYSE:).

Revenue growth started to slow in 2022 as the work-from-home demand boom for PCs and electronics faded.

China continues to be a weak market for both consumer and commercial, but the overall market also remains volatile and inconsistent across regions, CEO Enrique Lores said in a media call.

The PC maker said November-to-January revenue fell about 4.4% to $13.19 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimates of $13.56 billion, according to LSEG data.

Its adjusted earnings per share came in at 81 cents, in-line with target estimate.

HP forecast second-quarter adjusted profit per share between 76 cents and 86 cents, the midpoint of which is in line with estimates of 81 cents.

Sales at HP’s Personal Systems segment — home to its desktop and notebook PCs — fell 4% from a year ago, while its Printing segment posted a 5% fall.

Last week, its peer Lenovo Group reported stronger-than-expected earnings in the third quarter, with revenue returning to growth after five quarters of decline. Dell (NYSE:) is expected to report its fourth-quarter results on Thursday.