HP and Dell Report Earnings Today. Here’s What to Expect From the PC Makers.

For HP, a instrumentality to offices should beryllium a boost for its endeavor printing business.

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For 1 thing, determination person been expectations that arsenic schools and offices statesman to reopen, maturation successful user PC request volition mean and firm request volition accelerate. There is already wide grounds of slowing request for Chromebooks, a bigger origin for HP than Dell. But that dynamic has been muddled by the emergence of the Delta strain, with immoderate companies present delaying their bureau re-openings. Meanwhile, constituent shortages and higher shipping costs person go a origin for each tech hardware company, and stay a origin for some companies.

Indeed, the marketplace probe steadfast International Data Corp. this week chopped its 2021 forecast for worldwide PC shipment maturation to 14.2% from 18%, reflecting “supply concatenation and logistical challenges.” IDC sees compounded yearly maturation done 2025 of 3.2% for PCs, with tablet units expected to ebb astatine an annualized complaint of 1.2%.

While the authorities of the PC marketplace is important for some companies, determination are company-specific dynamics to ticker arsenic well.

For HP, a instrumentality to offices should beryllium a boost for its endeavor printing business; investors volition beryllium listening for commentary connected whether the Delta variant volition impact an expected pickup successful request for printers and supplies. Meanwhile, HP has been aggressively buying backmost its ain stock—repurchasing 17% of the interval implicit the past 4 quarters—and has committed to proceed buying backmost astatine slightest $1 cardinal of its shares each quarter. The institution is apt to supply an update connected its superior allocation strategy.

Dell’s concern includes endeavor server and retention products that should beryllium a nonstop beneficiary from a betterment successful firm IT spending—and the company’s enterprise-skewed PC concern should payment from the aforesaid factor. Meanwhile, investors await completion of the company’s spinout of its bulk involvement successful VMware (VMW), which is expected to adjacent earlier year’s end. That transaction includes a ample dividend backmost to Dell, which it intends to usage to substantially trim debt. VMware besides reports fiscal results Thursday.

HP has projected third-quarter non-GAAP profits of 81 cents to 85 cents a share; the Street statement is 84 cents. The Street sees gross of $15.9 billion, which would beryllium level with the April quarter, and up astir 11% from a twelvemonth ago.

Dell doesn’t supply elaborate fiscal guidance, projecting past quarter that it would spot continued beardown demand, but with sequential maturation successful the July 4th of somewhat little than the humanities mean seasonal summation of 6%, mostly owed to proviso constraints. Street statement estimates telephone for gross of $25.5 billion, which would beryllium up 4% sequentially, and 12.3% twelvemonth implicit year, with profits of $2.03 a share.

Citi expert Jim Suva keeps his Buy ratings connected some Dell and HP. He notes that determination has been immoderate unit connected some stocks due to the fact that of fears astir decelerating bid momentum, with a peculiar slowdown successful request for user PCs mostly and Chromebooks successful particular. But helium thinks fears of a crisp diminution are overblown.

Suva writes that Dell remains his apical prime successful endeavor hardware, seeing a imaginable for the banal to “rerate” higher, aided by the VMware rotation and a planned related indebtedness paydown.

Evercore ISI expert Amit Daryanani likewise has Outperform ratings connected some companies, but has a penchant for Dell shares. He thinks the institution volition amusement “notable upside” versus statement estimates, driven by stock gains successful PCs and “better execution” connected endeavor storage, and expects sizeable absorption connected the post-earning expert telephone connected the outlook for the institution aft completion of the VMware spin.

For HP, Daryanani is simply a small little bullish, noting that the institution precocious mislaid immoderate marketplace share, apt owed successful portion to slowing Chromebook demand.

On Tuesday, some HP and Dell shares were trading fractionally higher.

Write to Eric J. Savitz astatine eric.savitz@barrons.com