Like pouting children disappointed on Christmas morning because they only received 10 gifts and not 11, analysts are punishing Hewlett-Packard
At its fall analysts' meeting, Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina spread lots of good tidings about the company's accelerated cost savings from the Compaq buy. However, she didn't do the one thing most attendees wanted her to do -- raise sales or earnings targets for the company's current quarter.
Well, boo-frigging-hoo. Get over it.
What Fiorina did say, though, should be very encouraging to shareholders with an eye toward more than just the next earnings release date. HP has already cut costs by $2.4 billion, and expects to achieve the full $3 billion targeted in savings by the end of its current fiscal year in October 2003. That's a year earlier than the company had originally predicted.
HP recently reported fourth-quarter results indicating the combined company is coming together nicely. The still hazy outlook for business technology spending and the economy as a whole obviously remains a threat (as it does for many companies), but so far, Carly's baby is thriving. Getting all those cost savings far ahead of schedule should only help the company prosper more.
That optimism's apparently not enough for some. Whatever. Shareholders should ignore analysts' disappointed wailing and foot stomping, as there's nothing substantial behind it. When in doubt, Fools, ignore the analysts altogether.
