Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ)

Already trading at a favorable multiple of projected earnings, HP continues its focus on cost-cutting and focusing on high-margin business. Margins and market share have both been improving in the PC business. Mark Hurd has been CEO for a year now and has compiled an impressive track record. If he continues to deliver, this stock will trounce the S&P 500 as Mr. Market comes around to recognize it.

This is a solid company that is making excellent strides in several different areas. They are buying back 8 billion $'s of their stock. Think they are confident in their groth potential?

Personal choice. I don't like their computers.

Growing revenue steadily. CEO is improving margin by cutting the fat and redirecting focus to sales. HP has much room to improve efficiency of operations and Hurd seems like the right guy.

Dell is in the dumps with talk of possibly going to retail stores and the issue with the batteries. HP turn around is on course with plenty of room for growth now that the ship has been righted

Mark Hurd has this company dialed in. He consistently exceeds expectations. He continues to trim this company into fighting shape, yet invests in key areas: sales & targeted R&D. I expect he has many more cards to play.

HPs reorganization and cost cutting efforts will pay off in the short term. Invigorated product lines and new markets for HP will provide new revenue sources.

HP has expanded all product lines and is poised to leverage the launch of MSFT VISTA and a wholesale conversion in both the consumer and corporate market over the next 24 to 36 months. Additionally, HP continues it's strenght in the PC Peripheral's market (Printers), Server and Services categories. With over 650 million Windows PC users around the world...and an upgrade cycle, reduced Windows Piracy controls and incentives to move to VISTA, HP is well positioned to leverage the need to upgrade the PC Storage/memory necessary to handle VISTA.... Major driver.

HPQ's growth is without side-effects, the trade-off has now come to haunt HPQ:

* reckless acquisiton of EDS for $13,000,000,000 to compete with IBM is going to lay-off 24,600 employees. Thus further decreasing growth, worst if those talent relocates to HPQ competitors even exponentially further decreasing growth.

H-P’s Printing Flaw

blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2008/10/27/h-ps-printing-flaw/?mod=yahoo_hs

* Unbalanced distribution of R&D funds. Focussing too much on IT and losing Netbook market to ACER and ASUS.

Acer gains on netbooks, HP keeps global PC lead

ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/rb/081014/business_us_gartner_pc_sales.html?.v=1

* To make matters worse DELL with 13.6 percent market share has announced there new services & products date, while HPQ with soft 18.4 percent lead hasn't.

Dell to Introduce New Desktop Solutions and Services During Interactive Webcast

biz.yahoo.com/bw/081027/20081027006447.html?.v=1

As a former employee, I believe that HP has a lot of technology going for it. Mark Hurd will be able to wring as many dollars out of it as possible. He is wonderfully boring. My concern is that HP is becoming just a commodity player and won't regain its status as a technology leader as in the days of old.

With a new line of computers coming out in a few months and new software being created this is a wonderful buy. ITs real only competitor is Apple but im not a fan of those computer, i love my windows and that is why HP has used microsoft products. People are jsut used to them

Hewlett Packard (HPQ) has been hit by the recent scandal with it's board and the stock price is showing up, it shouldn't. The company has solid financials and barring any multi-million dollar judgements coming out of this scandal I think all this stock needs is a couple months for the press to cool down before the solid earnings and growth will bring investors around.

Hewlett-Packard is doing to DEll what Dell did to them years ago. I remember way back when Dell and Gateway were the two most popular computer companies. Now. HP is in the mix. They are a gret company that is now arguably the most popular computer maker.
My desktop is an HP along with my laptop. They make great products and continue to grow both in size and sales.

Dell reseller support(they don't reall have resellers but that is what they are) are getting horrible support and HP's partner offerings are easy, simple to use, and the support is great.

Dell is biting the hand that feeds them while HPQ is offering a great dinner for a good price.

When I foolishly picked HPQ as a short I felt that the market was ready to head south. I was wrong. But now things seem a lot more supportive of the short side. Daily and weekly stocks and MACD look to be dropping nicely. Some of the SMA supports are gone. I expect HPQ to turn green fairly soon.

HP has a great leadership team, is firing on all cylinders, and is making significant changes to its competitiveness. The selective acquisitions in the software space make HP even more attractive- It will extend the lead over IBM in the coming 24 to 48 months.

With apple, cisco, ibm, and microsoft all beating estimates, it is onloy logical that hpq will do well.

HP's new management seems very investor friendly and have been doing well trimming their margins.

Poor product support, compatibility issues -some printers not compatible with 64-bit architecture, computer boxes not upgradeable with latest patches or operating systems - not good for building customer loyalty. A spike in sales will only create more disappointed customers.