HP (NYSE:HPQ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

HP (NYSE:HPQ) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The computer maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04, Zacks reports. HP had a net margin of 4.57% and a negative return on equity of 330.68%. HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. HP updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.700-0.760 EPS.

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

• Q1 revenue was $14.4 billion (+7% YoY) and non‑GAAP EPS was $0.81 (+9%), coming in at the top of guidance and driven by strength in Personal Systems.
• Rising DRAM and NAND costs are a material headwind—management says memory now represents roughly 35% of the PC BOM and current prices rose ~100% sequentially—forcing HP to expect Personal Systems operating margins below its long‑term range for the rest of FY26.
• HP is accelerating its AI and integration strategy—AI PCs accounted for over 35% of shipments, new AI‑enabled products and Microsoft/OpenAI partnerships were announced, and its WXP platform now ingests data from ~50 million endpoints to drive predictive IT insights.
• Management maintained FY26 non‑GAAP EPS guidance of $2.90–$3.20 but said it expects to be nearer the low end, affirmed a $2.8–$3.0 billion free cash flow target, and noted an ongoing CEO search (Investor Day rescheduled).

HP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HPQ traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.15. The stock had a trading volume of 26,952,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,321,566. The firm has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.21. HP has a 1 year low of $18.00 and a 1 year high of $35.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.56.

HP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. HP’s payout ratio is presently 45.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $772,713.99. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $801,724.68. The trade was a 49.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.83, for a total value of $415,306.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,196.27. The trade was a 99.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 91,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,277,993 over the last ninety days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPQ. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HP in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in HP in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in HP in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in HP during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in HP by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about HP

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates — HP reported GAAP revenue of $14.44B (+6.9% YoY) and non‑GAAP EPS of $0.81, topping consensus and showing operational revenue growth. HP Inc. Reports Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Cash flow and shareholder return: HP generated $383M operating cash, $175M free cash flow, and returned roughly $0.6B via buybacks/dividends — supportive for yield-focused investors but modest in scale. HP Inc. Reports Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Results (GlobeNewswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed earnings picture — GAAP EPS slipped slightly year‑over‑year while non‑GAAP EPS rose ~9.5%; operating margins were down modestly, leaving the quarter mixed beneath the headline beat. HP earnings snapshot (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Management pulled its fiscal‑year outlook toward the low end of prior guidance, citing higher memory chip costs and risks from U.S. trade regulations — a major reason shares weakened despite the beat. HP warns US trade regulations, memory chip costs to weigh annual forecasts (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and market reaction: analysts updated expectations ahead of/after the print and the stock sold off in extended trading as investors focused on cost headwinds; media reports highlight the guidance shift as the primary catalyst. Top Wall Street Forecasters Revamp HP Expectations Ahead Of Q1 (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Press/wire coverage summarizes the market takeaway as “mixed guidance outweighs strong Q1 results,” reinforcing selling pressure into the close. HP slides as mixed guidance weighs on strong Q1 results (MSN)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HPQ. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HP in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of HP from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on HP from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.62.

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.