The hybrid workforce may be about to give HP Inc. a much-needed pick-me-up.
When it comes to the PCs and webcams bought during the pandemic, “all of them will be replaced,” HP
HPQ,
+3.52%
Chief Executive Enrique Lores told Yahoo Finance Live at the World Economic Forum this week when asked if he expects a hardware refresh cycle the next few years.
“We really think that people are going to continue to work in a hybrid way, which means sometimes working from home and sometimes working from the office, doing different things in different locations,” Lores said. “And clearly, this is a big opportunity for us.”
A refresh cycle would rejuvenate the fortunes of HP and rival Dell Technologies Inc.
DELL,
+2.03%,
both of whom richly benefited from the pandemic but are currently suffering a post-COVID slowdown in demand. Worldwide, PC shipments slumped 28% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will fall another 5.6% in 2023, according to market researcher IDC.
HP’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales slid 11% from a year ago, prompting it to announce a $1.4 billion cost-cutting plan that will eliminate between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs — or about 12% of HP’s workforce — by fiscal year 2025.
“We have identified five key growth areas,” Lores told Yahoo Finance Live. “What we have said is some of the savings will go to the bottom line. Some will also be used to continue to accelerate the growth in those areas, because this is where we see the future of the company.”
HP shares are down 2.6% in early-afternoon trading Thursday.
