Hewlett-Packard: On Earnings Day, Expecting Disappointing Guidance (HPQ, CDWC)

The Financial Times has an article looking ahead to Hewlett Packard’s (HPQ) earnings report today. They discuss HP’s recent share gains and ongoing turnaround efforts. What they fail to mention is the overall state of the PC business.

In their recent quarter, leading computer reseller CDW (CDWC) posted just 3 per cent year/year growth in PCs and notebooks. Their overall growth of just over 7 per cent was fueled by networking equipment and video -- areas in which HP does not participate. So, while the headline of the FT article was “Investors expect to see HP advance,” some investors (us, anyway) expect the guidance to be on the disappointing side.

HPQ 1-yr chart: