HP beats third-quarter revenue estimates on AI PC adoption, Windows 11 upgrade

By Jaspreet Singh

Aug 27 (Reuters) - HP Inc HPQ.N beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence-powered personal computers and Windows 11 upgrade cycle.

A strong PC refresh cycle is expected after Microsoft MSFT.O ends support for Windows 10 in October, as users and organizations seek to maintain security and access to the latest features, benefiting PC makers such as HP and Dell.

"We remain confident in the strength of the PC market opportunity, and expect continued momentum from Windows 11 refresh and AI PC adoption," CFO Karen Parkhill said.

The results come as evolving U.S. trade policies force PC makers to continuously rebalance supply chains, pass higher costs onto customers and manage increased pricing uncertainty.

CEO Enrique Lores said in an interview that HP has shifted nearly all North America-bound production out of China to Southeast Asia, Mexico, and some U.S. sites, retaining only a few insignificant, low-volume items there.

The company's third-quarter revenue rose about 3% to $13.93 billion, handily beating analysts' average estimate of $13.70 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

HP forecast fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share between 87 cents and 97 cents, roughly in line with analysts' estimates of 92 cents. The company's shares were down about 2% in extended trading.

The company said its expectations for fourth-quarter adjusted profit exclude about 12 cents per share for restructuring, deal-related costs, intangible amortization and tax items.

HP's adjusted profit per share of 75 cents for the quarter ended July 31 aligned with estimates.

In the third quarter, revenue for the personal systems unit, which houses both consumer and commercial PCs, grew 6% to $9.93 billion. Revenue for its printing segment, which includes office-oriented printers and service offerings, fell 4% to $4 billion.