Cantor Fitzgerald: HP Will Continue To Face Challenges, Regardless Of The Split

Shares of Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ opened strong on Friday, even though the company released mixed number on Thursday for its last quarterly report pre-split.

Brian White, Cantor Fitzgerald, was on CNBC Friday to weigh in on HP's numbers.

Haven't Been Able To Grow Profits

"I think the company is going to continue to be challenged whether it's standalone or separated," White began. "Their markets are commoditizing quickly, and that's about 70 to 80 percent of this portfolio. And if you look back, they haven't been able to grow profits. In fact, our numbers for this year, next year, the year after will still be lower than fiscal '08."

The Split 'Solution'

White was asked if he thinks the split will have a positive impact on the overall company. He replied, "Look, I think a split is better than standalone, but I still think both businesses will be very challenged. So, if you look at PC units, we are down 11 percent year-over-year. Printing units are down 2 percent year-over-year. It's just a tough market."

Related Link: Citi Says Buy Hewlett-Packard "Into Break-Up"

Gloom Everywhere, Not Just PCs And Printers

On whether HP's numbers look good if compared with peers, White said, "Industry is very difficult, right? So, I think they have gained some share in PC and in certain parts of printing they have. The problem is people just aren't buying PCs, right? People just aren't buying printers and that's one part of the portfolio.

"Look at the enterprise piece, their SaaS revenue, their cloud revenue was down 4 percent year-over-year. How is that possible? Cloud companies are growing 40, 60 percent a year."