Hewlett Packard Shares Soar After Earnings Report

Shares of computer giant Hewlett Packard saw big gains on Thursday after reporting an earnings beat.

It was the first earnings report since its former CEO Meg Whitman stepped down from her role as leader on February 1st. Currently the president of the company is Antonio Neri, a veteran executive.

Shares of the stock saw gains as high as 19% after the company revealed in its first quarter report that it beat on both the top and bottom line.

EPS at 34 cents was significantly higher than the 22 cents that analysts had been expecting. Revenue of $7.67 billion was also higher than the $7.07 billion that analysts had called for.

Storage revenue saw a growth of 24% YOY and data center networking revenue growth was 27% compared to the year ago quarter.

The numbers were higher than last year’s first quarter results which were EPS of 28 cents and revenues of $6.9 billion.

The company’s forecast looking ahead was also bright with the company expecting EPS of 29 to 33 cents for the second quarter. Analysts were calling for 26 cents.

“Given the recent tax reform in the U.S., which will provide easier access to off-shore cash, we are increasing our shareholder return commitment and our investment in employees,” said new leader Neri.

Hewlett Packard is planning to give $7 billion in share repurchases and dividends to its shareholders by fiscal 2019.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) and have not been compensated for this article.