Where HP surprised favorably for the first time in a while was its printing business.
Printing sales rose 1% from the prior year and came in ahead of expectations. The upside could stem from struggles at rival Xerox (XRX), which is sm--k in the middle of deep restructuring that pros say is causing market share loss.
"On print, results from peers such as Xerox came in below expectations, with Xerox's printing equipment sales declining double-digits year over year due in part to an increase in competitive activity in certain markets," Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani said in a client note.
Lores said HP is "gaining share" in the printing business, though declined to call out Xerox and cautioned the industry remains volatile.
"We think that the overall print market in 2025 will slightly decline. The decline will be less than what we saw this year, but our goal continues to be to perform better than the market," Lores said.