HP exceeds Wall Street expectations

HP has issued a comparatively optimistic forecast for sales in the coming year, which stands in sharp contrast to the gloomy forecasts from other major technology companies, reports The New York Times.

The Palo Alto, Calif., technology giant said today it expects to report revenue of $33.6 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended Oct. 31 ? a 19 percent increase from the $28.3 billion reported for the same period last year. That total includes revenue from the services provider Electronic Data Systems Corp., which HP acquired for $13.9 billion in August. Excluding the EDS results, HP's fourth-quarter revenue increased 5 percent, or 2 percent when adjusted for currency effects.

HP also said it expected earnings per share, excluding charges, of $1.03 for the quarter.

Both revenue and earnings exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Analysts had been expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $33.1 billion and earnings of $1.00 a share.

HP's optimism contrasts with the negative outlooks recently issued by Silicon Valley giants like Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.

HP ranks No. 39 on Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.