Shares in HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) slipped Friday, a day after the PC maker surpassed Wall Street’s profit and revenue estimates for its fiscal third quarter on the back of a surge in profits from its personal systems business.
For the fiscal third-quarter, the company posted net income of US$880mln, or US$0.54 per share, up from US$696mln, or US$0.41, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, its earnings came in at US$0.52 on revenue of US$14.9bln.
The results beat Wall Street’s estimate of US$0.51 on revenue of US$14.27bn, but HP stock fell on the report, shedding 3.3% to US$23.81 in the pre-market session.
The share price fallout was attributed to a slowdown in the operating margin of HP’s printer business, which took over rival Samsung’s printer business last year. While total revenue from its printer business jumped 11% from last year to US$5.19bn, its margin dropped for another consecutive quarter.
Revenue from HP’s personal systems unit, which includes its consumer and commercial PCs and notebooks and contributes the biggest chunk to the company’s sales, jumped 12% in the quarter to US$9.4bn
HP also increased its forecast for its full-year profit to a range of US$2.00 to US$2.03 per share, up from its previous projection of US$1.97 to US$2.02.