HP Inc.

HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D printing solutions. It was formed on November 1, 2015, as the legal successor of the original Hewlett-Packard after the company's enterprise product and business services divisions were spun off as a new publicly traded company, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
HP is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the S&P 500 Index. It is the world's 2nd largest personal computer vendor by unit sales as of January 2021, after Lenovo. In the 2023 Fortune 500 list, HP is ranked 63rd largest United States corporation by total revenue.
History
Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who both graduated with degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1935. The company started off in the HP Garage in Palo Alto, California. On November 1, 2015, Hewlett-Packard was split into two companies. Its personal computer and printer businesses became HP Inc., while its enterprise business became Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The split was structured so that Hewlett-Packard changed its name to HP Inc. and spun off Hewlett-Packard-Packard Enterprise as a new publicly traded company. HP Inc. retains Hewlett-Packard's pre-2015 stock price history and its former stock ticker symbol, HPQ, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise trades under its own symbol, HPE.
As HP Inc.
In May 2016, HP introduced a new PC gaming sub-brand known as Omen (reusing trademarks associated with VoodooPC), including gaming laptops and desktops (with the latter offering options such as CPU water cooling and Nvidia's GTX 1080 graphics, and promoted as VR-ready), and other accessories (such as monitors) designed to cater to the market.
In November 2017, HP acquired Samsung Electronics' printer division for $1.05 billion.
In February 2021, HP announced its acquisition of Kingston's gaming division HyperX for $425 million. The deal only includes computer peripherals branded as HyperX, not memory or storage.
The sale was completed in June 2021.
In February 2022, HP announced it had acquired the Edinburgh-based packaging development company, Choose Packaging, in an effort to strengthen its capabilities in the sustainable packaging vertical.
In March 2022, HP announced the acquisition of the California-headquartered communications software and hardware provider Poly Inc. in an all-cash transaction. HP said the cash amount agreed was $40 per share, which implied a total enterprise value of $3.3bn, inclusive Poly's net debts.
Attempted merger with Xerox
On November 5, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that print and digital document company Xerox was contemplating acquiring HP. The company unanimously rejected two unsolicited offers, including a cash-and-stock offer at $22 per-share. HP stated that there was "uncertainty regarding Xerox’s ability to raise the cash portion of the proposed consideration" (especially given that Xerox is a smaller company in terms of market cap than HP), and noted the company's aggressiveness. On November 26, 2019, Xerox issued a public letter defending allegations by HP that its offer was "uncertain" and "highly conditional", and declared its intent to "engage directly with HP shareholders to solicit their support in urging the HP Board to do the right thing and pursue this compelling opportunity."
Xerox stated in January 2020 that it would propose the replacement of HP's board of directors during its next shareholder meeting in April 2020. In a statement to TechCrunch, HP disclosed a belief that Xerox's bid was being "driven by" activist shareholder Carl Icahn. Xerox raised its bid to $24 per-share in February 2020.
On February 21, 2020, HP instituted a shareholder rights plan to fend off Xerox's pursuit of a hostile takeover. Four days later, HP announced that, if shareholders rejected the Xerox purchase, it planned on offering $16 billion in capital return between fiscal 2020 and 2022, including $8 billion in additional share buybacks and raising its "target long-term return of capital to 100% of free cash flow generation". HP criticized Xerox's bid as a "flawed value exchange" based on "overstated synergies". On March 5, 2020, HP rejected an offer at $24 per-share.
On March 31, 2020, Xerox rescinded its bid to buy HP Inc, citing that "the current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil" had "created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP Inc."
Products and operations
HP develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D Printing solutions.
In fiscal year 2022, total revenue of included US$29.2 billion from the sale of notebook computers, US$10.7 billion from the sale of desktop computers, US$11.8 billion from the sale of printer supplies, US$4.2 billion from the sale of commercial printers, and US$2.9 billion from the sale of consumer printers. Over 65 percent of revenue in 2022 came from customers outside of the United States.
Product lines
Desktop computers
Envy
Pro
ProOne
Omen
Pavilion
Business/enterprise portable computers
EliteBook: mainstream and high-end business laptops
ProBook: budget or small-business laptops
ZBook: workstation-class laptops for professionals
Consumer laptops and notebooks
Spectre: high-end sleek laptops
Envy: high-end laptops
Pavilion: mainstream and family laptops
HP (no name): budget laptops
Omen: laptops for gaming
Stream: low-end small laptops
Chromebook: low-end Chrome OS laptops
Printers
DeskJet: small home printers
Envy: medium home printers
Envy Inspire: medium home or office printers
Smart Tank: medium home office printers
OfficeJet: large printers for office
LaserJet: large printers for office or medium office
Audio partner
In March 2015, HP announced that Bang & Olufsen would become the company's new premium audio partner for its computers and other devices. The partnership replaced the one with Beats Electronics which ended upon its acquisition by Apple Inc.
Controversies
Blocking third-party ink cartridges
In 2016, HP introduced firmware in its printers that disabled the printers if users used ink or toner cartridges which did not contain “new or reused HP chips or electronic circuitry.” As a result, HP faced scathing criticism (such as that from the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and paid millions in class-action lawsuits, such as to certain customers in the US ($1.5 million), Canada ($700,000 CAD), Australia, and Europe ($1.350 million), but without admitting wrongdoing. HP's stated that the firmware was intended to provide "the best consumer experience" and "protect" customers from "counterfeit and third-party ink cartridges that do not contain an original HP security chip and that infringe on our IP."
In 2023, PC World reported that HP printers still prevent users from using third-party ink.
Disabling all-in-one printers
In 2023, HP was sued over allegations that it intentionally designed its all-in-one printers not to perform scanning or faxing when they were low on ink.
Loss of company archives under Keysight
A large part of Hewlett-Packard's historical company archives (consisting of over 100 boxes of correspondence and documents from the two founders) were acquired by Keysight Technologies at the time of its foundation in 2014. These archives were completely lost when the 2017 Tubbs wildfire incinerated two buildings on the headquarters campus of Keysight in Santa Rosa, California. A former HP employee who had previously been in charge of the archives commented that "a huge piece of American business history is gone", and Keysight disputed criticism that the archives had been inadequately protected.
Xinjiang region
In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including HP Inc, of being potentially connected to forced Uyghur labor in the Chinese Xinjiang province.
In 2022, in response to the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, HP responded, "HP is committed to respecting human rights across our global supply chain and we prohibit the use of involuntary labor of any kind. HP also commits to respecting fundamental rights and freedoms defined in the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in an approach consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) as outlined in our Human Rights Policy."
Carbon footprint
HP reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending December 31, 2020, at 254 Kt (−34 /-11.8% y-o-y) and plans to reduce emissions 60% by 2025 from a 2015 base year. This science-based target is aligned with Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
According to a press release issued on April 20, 2021, HP seeks to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the HP value chain by 2040, beginning with their Supplies business achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. "Climate change is a defining challenge of our generation that demands immediate action and investment," said Enrique Lores, HP Inc. President and CEO. "Now is a time for bold moves and ambitious goals that will protect our planet and create new sources of innovation and growth across the global economy. By driving toward net-zero carbon emissions across our entire value chain by 2040, product circularity and a forest positive framework, we will accelerate our progress and advance HP’s aspiration to become the world’s most sustainable and just technology company."
See also
HP Labs
List of largest technology companies by revenue
References
External links
2015 establishments in California
American brands
American companies established in 2015
Companies based in Palo Alto, California
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Computer companies of the United States
Consumer electronics brands
Display technology companies
Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Netbook manufacturers
Manufacturing companies established in 2015
Computer companies established in 2015
Corporate spin-offs
Software companies based in California
Software companies of the United States
Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Technology companies established in 2015
Technology companies of the United States