New From Hewlett Packard: The HP Earnings CashWriter

When Hewlett-Packard last reported earnings, it surprised Wall Street with a 25 percent spike in profit and raised its guidance for the year, citing “accelerating momentum” in enterprise IT spending, evidently for very good reason.

Posting fiscal second-quarter results after Tuesday’s closing bell, HP (HPQ) said it earned $1.09 a share on revenue that rose to $30.8 billion, from $27.4 billion in the same quarter the previous year.

That’s significantly better that the $1.05 a share on revenue of $29.8 billion that analysts had been expecting. Driving growth: Strong sales in most of HP’s key product segments: PCs, printers and data center equipment.

In a statement, HP CEO Mark Hurd touted the company’s third straight quarter of profit growth: “HP had an exceptional quarter with strong performance across every region,” he said, adding that he is “confident in the enormous opportunity that lies ahead.”

For the current quarter, the company expects a profit of $1.05 to $1.07 a share, in line with forecasts.