HP Inc. was formerly known as Hewlett-Packard. Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who both graduated with degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1935. The company started off in the HP Garage in Palo Alto, California. On November 1, 2015, Hewlett-Packard was renamed to HP Inc. and the company enterprise business were spun off and renamed to Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
As HP Inc.
In May 2016, HP introduced a new PC gaming sub-brand known as Omen, including gaming laptops and desktops, and other accessories designed to cater to the market. In November 2017, HP acquired Samsung Electronics' printer division for $1.05 billion.
On November 5, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that print and digital document company Xerox was contemplating acquiring HP. The company unanimously rejected two unsolicited offers, including a cash-and-stock offer at $22 per-share. HP stated that there was "uncertainty regarding Xerox’s ability to raise the cash portion of the proposed consideration", and noted the company's aggressiveness. On November 26, 2019, Xerox issued a public letter defending allegations by HP that its offer was "uncertain" and "highly conditional", and declared its intent to "engage directly with HP shareholders to solicit their support in urging the HP Board to do the right thing and pursue this compelling opportunity." Xerox stated in January 2020 that it would propose the replacement of HP's board of directors during its next shareholder meeting in April 2020. In a statement to TechCrunch, HP disclosed a belief that Xerox's bid was being "driven by" activist shareholderCarl Icahn. Xerox raised its bid to $24 per-share in February 2020. On February 21, 2020, HP instituted a shareholder rights plan to fend off Xerox's pursuit of a hostile takeover. Four days later, HP announced that, if shareholders rejected the Xerox purchase, it planned on offering $16 billion in capital return between fiscal 2020 and 2022, including $8 billion in additional share buybacks and raising its "target long-term return of capital to 100% of free cash flow generation". HP criticized Xerox's bid as a "flawed value exchange" based on "overstated synergies". On March 5, 2020, HP rejected an offer at $24 per-share. On March 31, 2020, Xerox rescinded its bid to buy HP Inc, issuing in a statement, "The current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil caused by COVID-19 have created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP Inc."
Current operations
HP develops personal computers, printers and related supplies, as well as 3D Printing solutions. In 2016, total revenue of US$48.238 billion included US$16.982 billion from the sale of notebook computers, US$9.956 billion from the sale of desktop computers, US$11.875 billion from the sale of printer supplies, US$5.131 billion from the sale of commercial printers, and US$1.254 billion from the sale of consumer printers. Approximately 63% of revenue in 2016 came from outside of the United States. HP is organized into several groups:
Laptops & 2-in-1s: All of HPs laptops and 2-in-1 PCs.
In March 2015, HP announced that Bang & Olufsen would become the company's new premium audio partner for its computers and other devices. The partnership replaced the one with Beats Electronics which ended upon its acquisition by Apple Inc.
HP Business Solutions are HPs products and services that are oriented towards businesses. These include:
HP JetAdvantage solutions manages businesses fleets of printers, scanners and MFPs. HP JetAdvantage also has the HP Universal Print Driver, which is a single driver that works with a large variety of HPs drivers.
HP Services is the brand used to HPs business services.
