Computer hardware stocks have moved to the upside Wednesday morning. The positive sentiment comes after Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) reported better than expected third quarter growth and set its fourth quarter guidance above consensus estimates.
HP shares were among the biggest gainers, up about 5%. Shares of EMC Corp. (EMC), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Dell Inc. (DELL) were each up about 2%.
Around 11:15 am Eastern Time, HP stock was up $2.37 at $46.06 a share, while Dell shares were up 50 cents at $24.94. Shares of EMC were up 23 cents at $15.41 and Apple stock was up $2.78 at $176.31.
Meanwhile, Seagate Technology (STX), and IBM Corp. (IBM) have also experienced notable buying interest.
Today's buying interest comes after the sector experienced two consecutive sessions of steep losses this week, which in turn followed a month-long uptrend.
After the closing bell on Tuesday, HP said that its third quarter earnings rose 14% from last year with the quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, coming in above analysts' estimates as well as the company's own expectations. At the same time, the firm forecast fourth quarter earnings above analysts' current consensus estimate.
The company reported GAAP net income of $2.0 billion or $0.80 per share for the third quarter, compared to $1.8 billion or $0.66 per share for the year-ago quarter and $2.1 billion or $0.80 per share for the previous quarter.
GAAP results for the latest quarter include costs of $161 million after-tax or $0.06 per share, related mainly to amortization of purchased intangibles.
Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $2.2 billion or $0.86 per share, compared to $1.9 billion or $0.71 per share in the prior year quarter and $2.2 billion or $0.87 per share in the prior quarter.
On average, 22 analysts polled by First Call / Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $0.83 per share for the third quarter.
GAAP operating margin for the third quarter was 9.0%, compared to 8.3% in the third quarter of last year and 9.2% in the second quarter.
Non-GAAP operating margin for the third quarter was 9.8%, compared to 9.0% in the last year's quarter and 10.0% in the previous quarter.
HP said revenue for the third quarter increased 10% to $28.03 billion from $25.38 billion in the same quarter last year. Third quarter revenue declined 0.8% sequentially. Nineteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $27.41 billion for the third quarter.
For the third quarter, the company had forecast revenue of $27.3 billion to $27.4 billion, GAAP earnings of $0.76 to $0.77 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $0.82 to $0.83 per share.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of $30.2 billion to $30.3 billion, GAAP earnings of $0.95 to $0.97 per share and non-GAAP earnings of $1.01 to $1.03 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $1.00 per share on revenue of $30.22 billion for the fourth quarter.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.