HP (NYSE:HPQ) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

Key Points

• HP beat quarterly expectations: EPS was $0.83 versus the $0.66 consensus, while revenue reached $15.68 billion, above the expected $14.44 billion. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $3.19–$3.29 and fourth-quarter EPS of $0.69–$0.79.
• AI is central to HP’s growth strategy. Management expects hybrid AI inference and AI PCs to reduce costs and create opportunities for premium hardware, software and services, though enterprise adoption may depend on stronger governance, security and software integration.
• HP declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 3.9% yield. Despite the earnings beat, analysts’ consensus rating remains “Reduce,” with an average price target of $24.17.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The computer maker reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. HP had a negative return on equity of 581.36% and a net margin of 4.45%.The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.44 billion. HP updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.190-3.290 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.690-0.790 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from HP's conference call:

• HP sees AI inference shifting toward a hybrid model, with workloads distributed across devices, on-premises systems, and the cloud. The company argues that local processing can reduce token costs while improving data sovereignty, security, and privacy.
• HP believes AI PCs could support meaningful cost savings, citing an estimated $650,000 per 1,000 employees for basic local queries and potentially more as devices run larger models and additional agentic workloads.
• Enterprise adoption may lag hardware capabilities because many IT departments have not yet established policies governing which workloads should run on-device versus in the cloud. Software integration, governance, and security remain important prerequisites for broader deployment.
• HP is positioning itself beyond PC hardware through three layers: intelligent devices, a connected workplace ecosystem, and IT management and security tools such as its Workforce Experience Platform and Wolf Security stack.
• Management expects agentic AI to create a large premiumization opportunity for PCs, potentially enabling new software and services revenue in addition to higher-value hardware as customers seek improved ROI from AI deployments.

HP Price Performance

NYSE HPQ traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.62. The stock had a trading volume of 21,261,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,302,463. HP has a 1 year low of $17.56 and a 1 year high of $32.19. The stock has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.55.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. HP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HPQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on HP from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of HP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Evercore set a $32.00 price target on shares of HP in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of HP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of HP from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HP currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $24.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HP news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 21,048 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total value of $631,019.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,186,608.40. This trade represents a 34.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,620 shares of company stock worth $1,478,622. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of HP

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in HP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HP in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in shares of HP by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company's stock.

More HP News

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HP signed a multi-year, global cross-licensing agreement with Huawei covering certain Wi-Fi patents. The deal could provide HP access to useful connectivity technology and helped improve sentiment despite Huawei’s presence on the U.S. entity list. HP partners with U.S.-blacklisted Huawei for licensing the Chinese company's WiFi tech
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings preview highlights continued PC demand and potential revenue growth, with analysts forecasting approximately $14.39 billion in quarterly revenue. Investors are also watching whether pricing and margin performance can offset industry pressures. HP Q3 2026 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: HP was scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter results after the market close on Aug. 26. Analysts expected earnings of about $0.66 per share, and the company had declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share. The report and management’s outlook are the next major catalysts. HP likely to report lower Q3 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are positioning for a potentially large move around earnings, indicating elevated uncertainty rather than a clear directional view. HP earnings preview: Options traders brace for big move
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts were expecting lower fiscal third-quarter earnings than the prior-year period, creating downside risk if HP misses estimates or gives a weaker outlook. Unusually heavy trading in long-dated HPQ put options also signals that some investors are hedging against longer-term weakness. HP results and unusual options activity

About HP

HP Inc is an American multinational information technology company that designs, manufactures and sells personal computing devices, printers and related supplies and services. Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial notebooks and desktops, workstations, displays and accessories, as well as an extensive line of printing hardware that includes home, office and production printers. HP also provides consumables such as ink and toner, managed print services, device deployment and lifecycle support, and software for device and print management.

Founded from the original Hewlett‑Packard Company, HP Inc became a separately traded public company in 2015 following a corporate split that created Hewlett Packard Enterprise to focus on enterprise hardware and services.

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