HP’s October conference key to future
This item is for those of you who fear Hewlett Packard may be about to plunge off a fiscal cliff – especially with its announcement Monday that it is cutting 29,000 jobs, up 2000 from its previous disclosure.
In a recent note to their clients, analysts at International Strategy & Investment Group, acknowledged that the Palo Alto corporation’s situation certainly looks worrisome.
According to the view of “many in the investment community,” it said, HP’s “cash flow generation and balance sheet metrics are horrific.” It added that some pessimists have predicted HP’s annual sales could shrivel from around $120 billion today to somewhere in the vicinity of $90 billion in five years.
But the ISI analysts countered that HP’s earnings per share stopped dropping about nine months ago and its “cash-flow characteristics are improving.” Consequently, it said, the Oct. 3 event HP plans to host with Wall Street to lay out its strategy going forward “will be critical for creating confidence” in the company.
