HP Revenues Fell 6.5 Percent in Quarter, 14.6 in Fiscal 2023

HP reported that it earned net earnings of $1 billion on revenues of $13.8 billion in the quarter ending October 31, 2023, the latter of which was down 6.5 percent year-over-year (YOY). The firm also reported net earnings of $3.3 billion on revenues of $53.7 billion for fiscal year 2023, which ended on the same date. Those figures represent a gain of 8 percent and a decline of 14.6 percent, respectively.

“2023 was a year of steady progress,” HP president and CEO Enrique Lores said. “We executed well in a tough market and innovated in our key growth areas to finish the year with good momentum. Our Future Ready plan is positioning us well to capitalize on attractive opportunities across our portfolio and deliver long-term sustainable growth.”

“Q4 was a solid quarter of sequential growth and strong free cash flow as we continued to improve the performance of the company,” HP CFO Marie Myers said. “We are entering FY24 [fiscal year 2024] with a relentless focus on driving profitable growth, reducing our structural costs, and returning 100 percent of our free cash flow to shareholders.”

HP is the world’s second-biggest maker of PCs by unit sales and its Personal Systems business delivered net revenues of $9.4 billion in the quarter, down 8 percent YOY. Total unit sales were flat, which is honestly a positive given how the rest of the year went, with consumer units sold up 9 percent and commercial units sold down 6 percent. For the year, Personal Systems delivered $35.7 billion in revenues, down 18.9 percent YOY.

HP’s Printing business provided the remaining $4.4 billion in revenues in the quarter, down 3 percent YOY. Printer unit sales were down 19 percent overall, with the consumer side down 18 percent and commercial down 24 percent. Printer supplies revenues were up 3 percent YOY. For the year, Printing delivered $18 billion in revenues, down 4.6 percent YOY.

HP generated a free cash flow of $3.1 billion in the year and returned $1.1 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends; the free cash flow figure the year before was $3.85 billion.

HP said it was “optimistic” that AI would boost PC sales in 2024, and that it expects to deliver its first AI PC in the second half of next year.