Hewlett-Packard's Ugly 2011: Is There Hope Ahead?

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which Eric Bleeker, senior technology editor, discusses topics around the investing world.

In this edition, Eric continues his review of how major tech companies performed in 2011. Looking at Hewlett-Packard, Eric finds there's little positive to be said about the company's year. The real hope left is that the valuation is cheap enough that with small steps of progress the company could see outsized gains in 2012. However, Eric notes that investors should pay close attention to comments like those of mega-investor Bill Ackman, who bemoaned the sinking morale at the company. And while HP aims to emulate IBM's services approach, its EDS services unit is still seen as a "body shop" rather than a top-notch consulting and services business of IBM's pedigree.

With several other tech giants -- such as Apple -- that are executing exceptionally and trading at low P/Es on their own, Eric suggests passing on HP as the calendar turns to 2012.

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