Painful decisions
To keep itself in the game, HP has made some painful decisions, laying off some 24,600 workers after acquiring IBM rival Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for $13.9 billion and handing out a separate round of pink slips back in May where an additional 6,400 employees were cut.
Last month HP also moved in to threaten networking giant Cisco, by buying up 3Com Corp for $2.7 billion. HP hasn't yet said whether it will be making any of 3Com's 5,800 employees redundant, but the firm certainly seems to be keen on running as tight a ship as possible.
HP certainly seems to be trying to avoid the current unpredictability of the PC market, which has been battered by shifts in both consumer and corporate spending as well as by price hikes in components like memory chips and LCD screens.
It seems there may be no pleasing some, however. Despite the fact HP exceeded analyst predictions, HP shares saw a small drop of 0.4 percent, to $50.82 in extended trading.
