HP Earnings in Line With Guidance

After market close Monday, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) reported fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with the forecast the company gave earlier this month when it acquired networking equipment maker 3Com. Excluding items, HP earned $1.14 a share on revenue of $30.8 billion, down eight percent from $33.6 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.13 a share, on $30.4 billion in revenue.

“HP’s solid performance in Services drove record profit, and the accelerated pace in signings creates strong momentum going into 2010,” said CEO Mark Hurd. “Our operational execution and improving cost structure generated strong quarterly and year-end results. We expect to outperform the market due to our significant scale, broad portfolio and market-leading position.”

Looking ahead to its first quarter, HP sees revenue of $29.6 billion to $29.9 billion and diluted earnings per share of 90 cents to 92 cents.