Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Hewlett-Packard Company's Revenue, Earnings to Dip

Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ announces its next round of earnings this Monday, November 21, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Monday's fourth quarter earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue:

Based on estimates, investors are readying for a positive EPS reading of $1.13/share and revenues of $32.1 billion. Hewlett-Packard Company's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $1.33/share on revenues of $33.28 billion. Investors are bracing themselves for Monday when we'll learn if the company reports lower EPS and slightly reduced revenue from the year-ago quarter, as analysts are predicting.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4
EPS Estimate	$1.10	$1.21	$1.29	$1.26
EPS Actual	$1.10	$1.24	$1.36	$1.33

(Estimates Source: Zacks)

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of Hewlett-Packard Company were trading at $28.24. Since January 1st, shares have declined 32.2%. For a full 12 months, the return has declined by 23.4%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already wary of 12-month losses prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts is a Hold. The strength of this rating has crept upwards over the past three months.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of Hewlett-Packard Company's peers.

• Apple AAPL: Moderate Buy with a $7.05 recent quarter EPS
• Cisco Systems CSCO: Hold with a $0.38 recent quarter EPS
• Dell DELL: Hold with a $0.54 recent quarter EPS
• EMC EMC: Moderate Buy with a $0.31 recent quarter EPS

The computers company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 0.9% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Hewlett-Packard provides products, technologies, software and services to individual consumers, businesses and large enterprises, including customers in the government.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Hewlett-Packard Company's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Hewlett-Packard Company, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here