HP just reported Q4 results. The stock is tumbling.
HP (NYSE:HPQ) shares plunged nearly 7.5% in late trading on Tuesday after the PC giant issued a forecast for the coming quarter that was much worse-than-expected.
Looking ahead, the Enrique Lores-led company expects adjusted per share, excluding one-time items, to be between $0.70 and $0.76 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, with the mid-point well below the $0.86 per share analysts were anticipating.
For the full-year, adjusted earnings are forecast to be between $3.45 and $3.75 per share, with the midpoint in-line with the estimate of $3.60 per share. Full-year free cash flow is expected to be within a range of $3.2B to $3.6B.
For the fiscal fourth-quarter, which ended on October 31, HP said it earned an adjusted $0.93 per share as revenue rose 1.7% year-over-year to come in at $14.06B. Included in that was a 2.1% rise from personal systems, or its PC unit, to $9.59B. Revenue attributed to printing during the period was $4.45B, up 0.8% year-over-year.
HP’s adjusted operating margin during the period was 8.5%, slightly below estimates of 8.66%. The company generated $1.5B in free cash flow for the period, down 21% year-over-year, and spent $900M buying back 25.4M shares.
A consensus of analysts expected the company to earn $0.93 per share on $14B in sales.
“We are pleased with our Q4 performance where we saw revenue growth for the second consecutive quarter, driven by steady progress in Personal Systems and Print,” said Lores in a statement. “With momentum heading into FY25, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the commercial opportunity and lead the future of work.”
Competitor Dell (DELL) also just reported quarterly results, which sent its own stock skidding in late trading.
The company will host a conference call at 5:30 p.m. EST to discuss the results.