What to Look For in HP and HPE Earnings After the Close

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 3:09AM EST · Published Feb 22, 11:30AM EST

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HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) are both scheduled to release their fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday. The old Hewlett-Packard split into two companies back in November 2015, but they have more or less shared the same reporting dates.

As for HP, the consensus estimates call for $0.42 in earnings per share (EPS) on $13.49 billion in revenue. The same period of last year EPS of had $0.38 and $12.68 billion in revenue.

Fourth-quarter 2017 shipments of personal computers, including desktops and laptops, fell 2% year over year to an estimated 71.56 million units. HP was the volume and market-share leader with worldwide shipments totaling 16.08 million in the quarter and a share of 22.5%. For the full year, worldwide shipments dipped 2.8% to 262.54 million units.

For all of 2017, HP led in shipments with 55.16 million units, for a market share of 21%, just ahead of Lenovo’s 20.8% share. Dell claimed 15.2% share and Apple garnered a 7.4% share.

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A few analysts weighed in on HP ahead of the earnings report:

Guggenheim has a Hold rating.
Goldman Sachs has a Neutral rating with a $25 price target.
Mizuho has a Neutral rating with a $23 price target.
Morgan Stanley has an Equal Weight rating and a $25 target.
Loop Capital has a Buy rating with a $28 target price.
Citigroup has a Buy rating with a $27 price target.
Barclays has an Equal Weight rating with a $23 target.

Shares of HP were last seen trading near $21.60, with a consensus analyst price target of $24.53 and a 52-week range of $16.48 to $24.10.

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Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates for Hewlett Packard Enterprise of $0.22 in EPS on revenue of $7.07 billion. In the same period of last year, reported EPS of $0.45 and $11.41 billion in revenue.

With strong top-line revenue growth to end fiscal 2017, and earnings above the previous outlook and the second consecutive quarter of sequential margin improvement, HPE’s most recent quarterly results were a reflection of the progress it has made over the past two years to transform into a focused and innovative organization.

Prior to the release of the report, analysts issued these calls on the stock:

Loop Capital has a Buy rating.
Goldman Sachs has a Neutral rating and a $16 price target.
Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with a $19 price target.
Sanford Bernstein has a Buy rating with an $18 target.

HPE traded near $16.40 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $12.70 to $17.07 and with a consensus price target of $15.82.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.