HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) stock is trading near its 52-week high after the Palo Alto, California-based company announced strong financial results for the fourth quarter, mainly helped by record demand for PCs as people started working from home due to the pandemic.
The PC and printer maker reported non-GAAP profit of $800 million, or 62 cents per share for the quarter, as compared to 60 cents per share in the same period last year. Analysts on average were looking for earnings of 52 cents per share. Revenue slipped 1 percent to $15.3 billion but surpassed the consensus forecast of $14.62 billion.
Speaking on the results HP’s CEO Enrique Lores said in a statement “we had record unit shipments in the quarter, reflecting the important role HP technology is playing in the lives of our customers. Our results give us great confidence in our ability to drive long-term growth and shareholder value in 2021 and beyond.”
If we compare the sales performance of key segments, revenue from the personal systems segment came in at $10.4 billion, almost flat when compared to last year. Comparatively, revenue from the printing segment decreased 3 percent on a year-over-year basis to reach $4.8 billion.
Looking forward, HP expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of 64 cents per share to 70 cents per share for the fiscal first quarter, above the consensus forecast of 54 cents per share.
HP shares fell sharply to nearly $13 in March following the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the stock managed to recover its lost value in the subsequent months to reach pre-pandemic price levels. Overall, HP's share price has increased nearly 8 percent on a year-to-date basis, including today’s gain. At the current trading price, the company’s market value stands at $30.718 billion with a P/E ratio of 12.66.
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