HP forecasts downbeat profit as weak PC market, competition weigh

By Juby Babu

(Reuters) -HP forecast fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates and cut its expectations for the year on Wednesday, owing to choppy demand in the personal computers market and competitive pricing, even though revenue grew after more than eight quarters.

Shares of the PC maker fell 3.7% in extended trading.

The company expects commercial PC momentum to continue, while seeing a slower recovery in the print market, CEO Enrique Lores said during a post earnings call, adding that "competitive environment continues to be difficult," specially in print and in office.

The company expects lower than usual seasonal growth for its personal systems segment, home to its desktop and notebook PCs, according to CFO Karen Parkhill.

The company's revenue growth had contracted in 2022 following the end of the pandemic-driven boom in demand for PCs and other electronic products.

Weak demand in China, the largest consumer of desktop PCs, has continued to hold the market back, according to research firm IDC.

However, worldwide PC shipments, excluding China, grew more than 5% year-over-year in the quarter ended June.

HP tightened its fiscal year 2024 adjusted profit forecast to be in the range of $3.35 to $3.45 per share, compared with its prior outlook of between $3.30 to $3.60 per share.

Analysts on average expect annual adjusted profit per share of $3.45, as per LSEG data.

The PC maker expects fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share to be between 89 cents and 99 cents, the midpoint of which was below LSEG estimates of 95 cents.

For the third-quarter, HP posted a 2.4% increase in revenue to $13.52 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $13.38 billion, according to LSEG data.

The Palo Alto, California-based company also increased its share repurchase authorization to $10 billion.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)