HP Slumps 8.8% Premarket as PC Unit Sales Plunge 16% Despite Earnings Beat
HPQ sits 68% above its 52-week low of $17.56.
Summary
HP shares fell 8.8% in premarket trading to $27.63 after Q3 results, extending the 10% after-hours drop from Wednesday. The company beat estimates with EPS of $0.83 on revenue of $15.7B, but unit sales in personal systems fell 16% overall and 19% for consumer, a sharp acceleration from Q2's 7% and 8% declines. Print unit sales were down 7%. The memory chip shortage (RAMageddon) is squeezing PC demand, and HP raised full-year EPS guidance to $3.19–$3.29, partly on an 11-cent tariff refund. Analyst sentiment is weak: only 2 of 19 rate the stock a Buy, down from 7 two years ago. The premarket move confirms the market's negative reaction to deteriorating unit volumes despite the headline beat.
At the time of this announcement, HPQ was trading at $29.51 on NYSE in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $27B. The 52-week trading range was $17.56 to $32.19. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.