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HP (HPQ) shares are down slightly even though it reported better-than-expected earnings and consistent growth in the sales of personal computers and printers.
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The company reported fiscal third-quarter non-GAAP earnings of 52 cents per share on revenue of $14.59 billion, up 12%.
The results edged consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of 51 cents per share on $14.27 billion in revenue. In the year-ago quarter, HP reported EPS of 43 cents on $13.06 billion in revenue.
But HP shares dipped 0.9% to $24.41 in after-hours trading Thursday, near a 52-week high. For the year, they’re up 17%, one barometer of the praise HP Chief Executive Dion Weisler is receiving for stabilizing the company’s business.
Weisler and Chief Financial Officer Steve Fieler attributed the jump in sales to improved revenue from the company’s Personal Systems (12%) and Print (11%) divisions. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company, which outgrew the overall PC market by 5.4%, registered gains in notebooks (13%), desktops (14%), and workstations (11%).
In a phone interview with Barron’s, Weisler characterized the results as “consistent and balanced.” He added, however, that “we remain cognizant of headwinds in the industry around trade and components.”
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