On November 22nd, Cailian News Agency reported that HP released its fourth quarter report after trading on Tuesday.
The report shows that due to the failure of the PC market growth rate to meet expectations, HP's fourth quarter sales performance was poor. At the same time, the company's forward-looking guidance for the next fiscal quarter was also lower than expected, causing the company's stock price to decline after hours.
However, HP CEO Enrique Lores stated after the financial report that he expects HP's revenue to improve in the new fiscal year, and the PC market is expected to rebound in 2024.
HP turned losses into profits in the fourth quarter
HP's financial report shows that in the fourth quarter ended October 31:
The company's revenue decreased by 6.5% year-on-year to $13.8 billion;
The net profit was $1 billion, compared to a net loss of $23 million in the same period last year, which turned the loss into a profit year-on-year;
Non GAAP's net profit was $900 million, an 8% increase from $800 million in the same period last year.
The adjusted profit per share for the fourth fiscal quarter was 90 cents.
HP's corporate computer sales decreased by 11% year-on-year to $6.21 billion, underperforming expectations; Consumer personal computer revenue decreased by 1% to around $3.19 billion; The printer department's revenue was $4.4 billion, in line with expectations.
The market has shown signs of recovery
In the past 18 months, due to the global economic recession after the epidemic, the demand for PCs in the market has continued to cool, and most PC manufacturers such as HP have suffered heavy losses in their revenue. Therefore, HP CEO Lorez wrote in his financial report, "We have performed well in challenging markets and innovated in key growth areas, ending the year with good momentum
Recently, market analysts have begun to see signs of recovery in the industry. For example, the international data firm IDC wrote in its October report that although the global economy remains sluggish, the personal computer market has "bottomed out".
HP CEO Lorez stated that he expects HP's revenue to improve in the new year.
He said that HP has seen corporate demand stabilize and consumer spending rebound around the upcoming holiday, which makes us believe that the personal computer market will achieve growth in the fiscal year 2024.
The outlook for the next fiscal quarter falls short of expectations
HP expects that in the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year ending in January next year, the company's earnings per share after deducting certain items will be $0.76- $0.86, while analysts expect an average of $0.85. Affected by this, HP's stock price fell by nearly 3.2% after hours.
The company announced its profit guidance for the 2024 fiscal year last month, ranging from $3.25 to $3.65 per share, and confirmed this guidance in this financial report.
Bloomberg analyst Woo Jin Ho wrote that HP's forecast for the first quarter was lower than expected, but its full year profit forecast remained unchanged, indicating that HP will rely on strong performance in the second half of the 2024 fiscal year to achieve its full year forecast.
He said, "Although we expect HP to benefit from the rebound in the personal computer business, the increasing competitive pressure may require the sales and profit margins of the printer business to remain resilient
Lorez predicts that consumers and businesses will choose more high-end computers in 2024, thereby driving up the average selling price.
More and more personal computers are being used as communication tools - you need better cameras, larger memory, and better speakers, "he said.