NEW YORK, May 8, 2026, 17:02 EDT
- HP shares climbed roughly 8% on Friday, bouncing back after Thursday’s decline.
- HP is making the move ahead of its May 27 earnings call, which will cover results for the quarter that wrapped up on April 30.
- AI PC demand is in the spotlight, but investors are also contending with pricier memory chips and softer printing revenue.
HP Inc. surged nearly 8% to $22.68 Friday, snapping back ahead of its fiscal second-quarter earnings report, now just under three weeks away. Shares changed hands at $22.68, up from an open of $21.10, according to market data.
Timing is key here. HP plans to report results for the quarter ended April 30 on May 27, drawing attention to whether AI-enabled PC demand is enough to drive growth as parts costs eat into margins. These AI PCs are designed to handle some artificial-intelligence processing on the machine itself, rather than relying solely on the cloud. GlobeNewswire
After Thursday’s drop, HP slid 1.96% to close at $20.99, snapping its two-day run. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished lower, MarketWatch reported. MarketWatch
Hardware stocks caught a bid elsewhere as well. Dell Technologies climbed roughly 13% Friday. Apple tacked on close to 2%. The rally wasn’t just HP’s story, even if its rebound grabbed attention after Thursday’s drop.
Competition keeps shifting. Gartner reported a 9.3% jump in global PC shipments for the fourth quarter of 2025, putting Lenovo in front, HP at No. 2, and Dell just behind. Rishi Padhi, an analyst at Gartner, pinned the demand uptick on the “Windows 11 upgrade cycle.” Still, he noted that heavy price cuts and promotions eventually took the edge off. Gartner
HP’s most recent quarterly numbers capture the divide on investors’ minds. First-quarter revenue hit $14.4 billion, a 6.9% rise from a year ago. Personal Systems climbed 11%, but Printing dropped 2%. Interim CEO Bruce Broussard highlighted “continued momentum in AI PCs.” CFO Karen Parkhill flagged a “dynamic environment marked by increasing memory costs.” HP
Memory is still the sticking point. HP, according to Reuters, anticipates that swings in memory chip prices will drag on into next year, with the company flagging ongoing pressure on PC shipments—a headache connected to the very AI ramp-up that’s stoking demand for pricier hardware. Reuters
HP’s reporting cycle comes under temporary leadership, after it named Broussard as interim CEO back in February following Enrique Lores’s departure. The board has set up a search committee to hunt for a permanent chief executive. HP
Still, Friday’s action leaves the downside scenario intact. Should memory costs remain elevated, HP faces some tough options: hike prices, take a hit on margins, or risk ceding ground to Dell and Lenovo, both scrambling for PC upgrade buyers. Printing, once a reliable profit driver, now lags behind the PC division in both size and strength according to the latest figures.
Next up: the May 27 report. HP has to prove Personal Systems demand stayed solid through April. Another flash point—printing can’t show deeper declines. Investors also want reassurance that the company’s cost controls will keep earnings steady as they wait for a permanent CEO.
