HP said on Wednesday it expects adjusted earnings per share for the current quarter to land between $0.69 and $0.79, a projection that sits above Wall Street's consensus. The company attributed part of that uplift to estimated tariff refunds and to pricing actions on higher-end and AI-optimized personal computers that should help mitigate rising memory costs.
The midrange forecast compares with analysts' average estimate of $0.67 per share, based on data compiled by LSEG. HP said the quarterly outlook reflects an $0.08 per-share boost tied to anticipated tariff reimbursements.
In a separate detail, HP reported adjusted earnings of $0.83 per share for the quarter ended July 31, which included an $0.11-per-share benefit from tariff refunds. That reported figure topped analysts' estimates of $0.69 per share.
Revenue for the third quarter came in at $15.7 billion, up 12.5% from the prior year and above consensus of $14.38 billion, with the company citing strong demand for AI-optimized personal computers as a contributor to the topline gain.
"In the third quarter, we increased both total sales and share in premium products and continued to attract new customers with innovations in WXP, Print, workstations and AI PCs," HP's interim CEO Bruce Broussard said. "Our ongoing strategy to address environmental constraints led to meaningful improvements in memory supply and higher fulfillment rates."
HP confirmed that its upward revisions for the current quarter and the prior-quarter results reflect estimated tariff refunds tied to duties that were levied before those tariffs were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, a development referenced in a recent court filing that said about $100 billion had been returned by the U.S. administration.
On an annual basis, HP raised its adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $3.19 to $3.29. That updated outlook incorporates an estimated $0.19-per-share favorable impact from tariff refunds over the full year. The company had previously guided to a $2.90 to $3.10 range for annual adjusted EPS.
The pricing actions are not unique to HP. The company and several rivals, including Dell Technologies, Apple and China's Lenovo Group, moved to increase device prices after a global shortage of memory chips exerted upward pressure on component costs. Lenovo earlier reported a 43% jump in quarterly revenue in August, a gain the company attributed to strong demand for AI hardware and the application of higher prices during the memory shortage.
What this means
HP's near-term profit outlook is supported by a mix of one-time tariff-related benefits and sustained pricing power in higher-margin, AI-capable products. The company also signaled improved memory supply and fulfillment rates as a factor behind its quarterly performance.
Methodology note - The company referenced LSEG data for analyst estimates and cited figures from a recent court filing on tariff reimbursements.