What Happened?
Shares of personal computing and printing company HP (NYSE: HPQ) fell 8.2% in the afternoon session after the company reported weak first-quarter 2025 results: its EPS and EBITDA missed, and it lowered its full-year EPS guidance, pointing to an uncertain macro backdrop and uneven recovery in printing and consumer tech spending.
On the other hand, HP narrowly topped analysts' revenue expectations. Still, this was a softer quarter.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy HP? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What The Market Is Telling Us
HP’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 2 months ago when the stock dropped 5.5% on the news that markets gave up early gains with optimism over progress in US-China trade talks quickly fading as the Trump administration announced plans to raise tariffs on all Chinese imports to well above 100%.
Hopes had been lifted by chatter of constructive negotiations aimed at easing and eventually removing U.S. trade tariffs. But the news confirmed fears of a prolonged trade fight, increasing uncertainty about the direction of economic policy. This left investors grappling with the dual threat of slower growth and higher inflation, both of which could linger if the standoff continues.
HP is down 23.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $24.97 per share, it is trading 36.5% below its 52-week high of $39.30 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of HP’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,649.
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