May 27 (Reuters) - HP beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for AI-optimized personal computers and the Windows 11 refresh cycle.
PC makers including HP, Dell Technologies and China's Lenovo Group are navigating a shortage of memory chips as data center buildout is sucking up capacity and triggering price increases of smartphones and PCs.
That supply crunch is pushing some enterprises toward higher-margin premium devices during the Windows
11 upgrade cycle after Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 in October last year.
Last week, rival Lenovo reported a better-than-expected 27% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, as strong consumer demand for PCs ahead of potential price hikes helped the world's largest computer maker expand its market share.
HP's second-quarter revenue rose 9% to $14.41 billion from a year ago, beating LSEG-compiled analysts' average estimate of $14.07 billion.
Its adjusted earnings per share of 86 cents also topped estimates of 71 cents for the quarter ended April 30.
"During the second quarter, we continued executing our future of work strategy through intelligent devices, edge AI, and connected experiences while navigating rising commodity costs," HP interim CEO Bruce Broussard said in a statement.
The company's "future of work" strategy focuses on AI-powered PCs, hybrid work tools and workplace software.
HP said it now expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.90 to $3.10, compared with its prior estimates of $2.90 to $3.20.
The company expects third-quarter adjusted EPS between 61 cents and 71 cents, the mid-point of which was slightly above estimates of 64 cents.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
