Hewlett Packard Co (HPQ) SEC Annual Report (10-K) for 2011

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ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
All Financial Statements

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  ý  No  o

          Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  o  No  ý

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  ý  No  o

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes  ý  No  o

          Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes  o  No  ý

          The aggregate market value of the registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates was $85,752,487,000 based on the last sale price of common stock on April 30, 2011.

          The number of shares of HP common stock outstanding as of November 30, 2011 was 1,984,033,497 shares.

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Hewlett-Packard Company

Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2011

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Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Item 7, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Hewlett-Packard Company and its consolidated subsidiaries ("HP") may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to any projections of revenue, margins, expenses, earnings, earnings per share, tax provisions, cash flows, benefit obligations, share repurchases, currency exchange rates, the impact of acquisitions or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including execution of restructuring and integration plans; any statements concerning the expected development, performance or market share relating to products or services; any statements regarding current or future macroeconomic trends or events and the impact of those trends and events on HP and its financial performance; any statements regarding pending investigations, claims or disputes; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP's businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its suppliers, customers and partners; the protection of HP's intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed from third parties; integration and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; the hiring and retention of key employees; assumptions related to pension and other post-retirement costs; expectations and assumptions relating to the execution and timing of restructuring and integration plans; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes; and other risks that are described herein, including but not limited to the items discussed in "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of this report, and that are otherwise described or updated from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

PART I

ITEM 1. Business.

        HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses ("SMBs") and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. Our offerings span:

        HP was incorporated in 1947 under the laws of the State of California as the successor to a partnership founded in 1939 by William R. Hewlett and David Packard. Effective in May 1998, we changed our state of incorporation from California to Delaware.

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HP Products and Services; Segment Information

        Our operations are organized into seven business segments: the Personal Systems Group ("PSG"), Services, the Imaging and Printing Group ("IPG"), Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking ("ESSN"), HP Software, HP Financial Services ("HPFS") and Corporate Investments. In each of the past three fiscal years, notebooks, desktops and printing supplies each accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated net revenue. In fiscal 2010 and 2011, infrastructure technology outsourcing services also accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated net revenue. Industry standard servers accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated net revenue in fiscal 2011.

        A summary of our net revenue, earnings from operations and assets for our segments and business units is found in Note 19 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference. A discussion of factors potentially affecting our operations is set forth in "Risk Factors" in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Personal Systems Group

        PSG provides commercial personal computers ("PCs"), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. We group commercial notebooks, commercial desktops and workstations into commercial clients and consumer notebooks and consumer desktops into consumer clients when describing our performance in these markets. Like the broader PC market, PSG continues to experience a shift toward mobile products such as notebooks. Both commercial and consumer PCs are based predominately on the Windows operating system and use Intel Corporation ("Intel") and Advanced Micro Devices ("AMD") processors.

        Commercial PCs.     Commercial PCs are optimized for commercial uses, including enterprise and SMB customers, and for connectivity and manageability in networked environments. Commercial PCs include the HP ProBook and the HP EliteBook lines of notebooks and the Compaq Pro, Compaq Elite, HP Pro and HP Elite lines of business desktops, as well as the All in One TouchSmart and Omni PCs, HP Mini-Note PCs, retail POS systems, HP Thin Clients and HP Slate Tablet PCs.

        Consumer PCs.     Consumer PCs include the HP and Compaq series of multi-media consumer notebooks, desktops and mini notebooks, including the TouchSmart line of touch-enabled all-in-one notebooks and desktops.

        Workstations.     Workstations are individual computing products designed for users demanding enhanced performance, such as computer animation, engineering design and other programs requiring high-resolution graphics. PSG provides workstations that run on both Windows and Linux-based operating systems.

Services

        Services provides consulting, outsourcing and technology services across infrastructure, applications and business process domains. Services delivers to its clients by leveraging investments in consulting and support professionals, infrastructure technology, applications, standardized methodologies, and global supply and delivery. Our services businesses also create opportunities for us to sell additional hardware and software by offering solutions that encompass both products and services. Services is divided into four main business units: infrastructure technology outsourcing, technology services, applications services and business process outsourcing.

        Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing.     Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing delivers comprehensive services that streamline and optimize our clients' infrastructure to efficiently enhance performance, reduce costs, mitigate risk and enable business change. These services encompass the data center and the workplace (desktop); network and communications; and security, compliance and

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business continuity. We also offer a set of managed services, providing a cross-section of our broader infrastructure services for smaller discrete engagements.

        Technology Services.     Technology Services provides support and consulting services, as well as warranty support across HP's product lines. HP specializes in keeping technology running with mission critical services, converged infrastructure services, networking services, data center transformation services and infrastructure services for storage, server and unified communication environments. HP's technology services offerings are available in the form of service contracts, pre-packaged offerings (HP Care Pack services) or on an individual basis.

        Application Services.     Applications Services helps clients revitalize and manage their applications assets through flexible, project-based, consulting services and longer-term outsourcing contracts. These full life cycle services encompass application development, testing, modernization, system integration, maintenance and management. Applications Services also provides industry-focused technology consulting and systems integration solutions and services that use cloud computing, hybrid delivery, enterprise mobility, information management and real-time analytics. Applications projects open doors to new infrastructure technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing opportunities and represent attractive cross-selling opportunities to current HP clients.

        Business Process Outsourcing.     Business Process Outsourcing is powered by a platform of underlying infrastructure technology, applications and standardized methodologies and is supplemented by IT experience and in-depth, industry-specific knowledge. These services encompass both industry-specific and cross-industry solutions. Our cross-industry solutions include a broad array of enterprise shared services, customer relationship management services, financial process management services and administrative services.

Imaging and Printing Group

        IPG provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media and scanning devices. IPG is also focused on imaging solutions in the commercial markets. These solutions range from managed print services to capturing high-value pages in areas such as industrial applications, outdoor signage, and the graphic arts business.

        Inkjet and Web Solutions.     Inkjet and Web Solutions delivers HP's consumer and SMB inkjet solutions (hardware, supplies, media, web-connected hardware and services) and develops HP's retail publishing and web businesses. It includes single function and all-in-one inkjet printers targeted toward consumers and SMBs, as well as retail publishing solutions, Snapfish and ePrintCenter.

        LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions.     LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions delivers products, services and solutions to the medium-sized business and enterprise segments, including LaserJet printers and supplies, multi-function devices, scanners, web-connected hardware and services and enterprise software solutions, such as Exstream Software and Web Jetadmin.

        Managed Enterprise Solutions.     Managed Enterprise Solutions provides managed print services products and solutions delivered to enterprise customers partnering with third-party software providers to offer workflow solutions in the enterprise environment.

        Graphics Solutions.     Graphics Solutions provides large format printing (Designjet and Scitex), large format supplies, WebPress supplies, Indigo printing, specialty printing systems and inkjet high-speed production solutions. Graphic Solutions targets print service providers, architects, engineers, designers and industrial solution providers.

        Printer Supplies.     Our printer supplies offerings include LaserJet toner and inkjet printer cartridges, graphic solutions ink products and other printing-related media.

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Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking

        ESSN provides server, storage and networking products in a number of categories. Our Converged Infrastructure portfolio of servers, storage and networking combined with HP Software's Cloud Service Automation software suite creates HP's CloudSystem. This integrated solution enables enterprise and service provider clients to deliver infrastructure, platform and software as a service in a private, public or hybrid cloud environment. By providing a broad portfolio of server, storage and networking solutions, ESSN aims to optimize the combined product solutions required by different customers and provide solutions for a wide range of operating environments, spanning both the enterprise and the SMB markets.

        Industry Standard Servers.     Industry Standard Servers offers primarily entry-level and mid-range ProLiant servers, which run primarily Windows, Linux and Novell operating systems and leverage Intel and AMD processors. The business spans a range of product lines that include pedestal-tower servers, density-optimized rack servers and HP's BladeSystem family of server blades.

        Business Critical Systems.     Business Critical Systems delivers mission-critical Converged Infrastructure with a portfolio of HP Integrity servers based on the Intel Itanium processor that run the HP-UX and OpenVMS operating systems, as well as HP Integrity NonStop solutions. Our Integrity servers feature scalable blades built on a blade infrastructure with HP's unique Blade Link technology and the Superdome 2 server solution. Business Critical Systems also offers HP's scale-up x86 ProLiant servers for scalability of systems with more than four industry standard processors. In addition, HP continues to support the HP9000 servers and HP AlphaServers by offering customers the opportunity to upgrade these legacy systems to current HP Integrity systems.

        Storage.     Our storage offerings include storage platforms for high-end, mid-range and small business environments. Our flagship product is the HP 3PAR Utility Storage Platform, which is designed for virtualization, cloud and IT-as-a-service. The Storage business has a broad range of products including storage area networks, network attached storage, storage management software and virtualization technologies, StoreOnce data deduplication solutions, tape drives and tape libraries. These offerings enable customers to optimize their existing storage systems, build new virtualization solutions and plan their transition to cloud computing.

        Networking.     Our switch, router, wireless LAN and TippingPoint network security products deliver open, scalable, secure, agile and consistent solutions for the data center, campus and branch networks. Our networking solutions are based on HP's FlexNetwork architecture, which is designed to enable simplified server virtualization, unified communications and multi-media application delivery for the enterprise.

HP Software

        HP Software provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions and security intelligence/risk management solutions. Solutions are delivered in the form of traditional software licenses or as software-as-a-service. Augmented by support and professional services, HP Software solutions allow large IT organizations to manage infrastructure, operations, application life cycles, application quality and security, IT services, business processes, and structured and unstructured data. In addition, these solutions help businesses proactively safeguard digital assets, comply with corporate and regulatory policies, and control internal and external security risks.

HP Financial Services

        HPFS supports and enhances HP's global product and service solutions, providing a broad range of value-added financial life cycle management services. HPFS enables our worldwide customers to acquire complete IT solutions, including hardware, software and services. The group offers leasing,

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financing, utility programs and asset recovery services, as well as financial asset management services for large global and enterprise customers. HPFS also provides an array of specialized financial services to SMBs and educational and governmental entities. HPFS offers innovative, customized and flexible alternatives to balance unique customer cash flow, technology obsolescence and capacity needs.

Corporate Investments

        Corporate Investments includes business intelligence solutions, HP Labs, webOS software and certain business incubation projects. Business intelligence solutions enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise and apply analytics. This segment also derives revenue from licensing specific HP technology to third parties. In addition, revenue from the sale of webOS devices was reported as part of this segment prior to the wind down of the webOS device business in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, which negatively impacted segment net revenue, gross margin and loss from operations as a result of contra revenue associated with sales incentive programs and expenses related to supplier-related obligations and inventory write downs.

Sales, Marketing and Distribution

        We manage our business and report our financial results based on the principal business segments described above. Our customers are organized by consumer and commercial customer groups, and distribution is organized by direct and channel. Within the channel, we have various types of partners that we utilize for various customer groups. The partners include:

        The mix of HP's business by channel or direct sales differs substantially by business and region. We believe that customer buying patterns and different regional market conditions necessitate sales, marketing and distribution to be tailored accordingly. HP is focused on driving the depth and breadth of its coverage in addition to efficiencies and productivity gains in both the direct and indirect business.

        HP's Enterprise Sales and Marketing organization ("Enterprise Sales") manages most of our enterprise and public sector customer relationships and also has primary responsibility for simplifying sales processes across our segments to improve speed and effectiveness of customer delivery. In this

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capacity, Enterprise Sales also works closely with HP's enterprise businesses (Services, ESSN and HP Software), which manage specialty resources focused on their specific products, including UNIX, servers, storage, networking, software and support offerings. Enterprise Sales manages our direct distribution activities for commercial products and go-to-market activities with systems integrators and ISVs. Enterprise Sales also is responsible for driving HP's horizontal and vertical solutions with both HP's enterprise services business and the partners listed above. In addition, Enterprise Sales drives HP's vertical sales and marketing approach in the communication, media and entertainment, financial services, manufacturing and distribution and public sector industries.

        PSG manages SMB customer relationships and commercial reseller channels relationships, due largely to the significant volume of commercial PCs that HP sells through these channels. PSG also leads the Volume Direct organization, which is charged with the processing of direct sales for volume products. In addition, PSG manages direct online sales through the Consumer Exchange and the Small Business Exchange.

        IPG manages HP's overall consumer-related sales and marketing relationships. IPG also manages consumer channel relationships with third-party retail locations for imaging and printing products, as well as other consumer products, including consumer PCs, which provides for a bundled sale opportunity between PCs and IPG products.

Manufacturing and Materials

        We utilize a significant number of outsourced manufacturers ("OMs") around the world to manufacture HP-designed products. The use of OMs is intended to generate cost efficiencies and reduce time to market for HP-designed products. We use multiple OMs to maintain flexibility in our supply chain and manufacturing processes. In some circumstances, third-party OEMs manufacture products that we purchase and resell under the HP brand. In addition to our use of OMs, we currently manufacture a limited number of finished products from components and sub-assemblies that we acquire from a wide range of vendors.

        We utilize two primary methods of fulfilling demand for products: building products to order and configuring products to order. We build products to order to maximize manufacturing and logistics efficiencies by producing high volumes of basic product configurations. Configuring products to order permits configuration of units to the particular hardware and software customization requirements of customers. Our inventory management and distribution practices in both building products to order and configuring products to order seek to minimize inventory holding periods by taking delivery of the inventory and manufacturing immediately prior to the sale or distribution of products to our customers.

        We purchase materials, supplies and product subassemblies from a substantial number of vendors. For most of our products, we have existing alternate sources of supply, or such sources are readily available. However, we do rely on sole sources for laser printer engines, LaserJet supplies and parts for products with short life cycles (although some of these sources have operations in multiple locations in the event of a disruption). We are dependent upon Intel as a supplier of processors and Microsoft Corporation ("Microsoft") for various software products. However, we believe that disruptions with these suppliers would result in industry-wide dislocations and therefore would not disproportionately disadvantage us relative to our competitors. For processors, we also have a relationship with AMD, and we have continued to see solid acceptance of AMD processors in the market.

        Like other participants in the high technology industry, we ordinarily acquire materials and components through a combination of blanket and scheduled purchase orders to support our requirements for periods averaging 90 to 120 days. From time to time, we experience significant price volatility and supply constraints for certain components that are not available from multiple sources. Frequently, we are able to obtain scarce components for somewhat higher prices on the open market, which may have an impact on gross margin but does not disrupt production. We also acquire

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component inventory in anticipation of supply constraints or enter into longer-term pricing commitments with vendors to improve the priority, price and availability of supply. See "Risk Factors-We depend on third-party suppliers, and our revenue and gross margin could suffer if we fail to manage suppliers properly," in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

International

        Our products and services are available worldwide. We believe this geographic diversity allows us to meet demand on a worldwide basis for both consumer and enterprise customers, draws on business and technical expertise from a worldwide workforce, provides stability to our operations, allows us to drive economies of scale, provides revenue streams to offset geographic economic trends and offers us an opportunity to access new markets for maturing products. In addition, we believe that future growth is dependent in part on our ability to develop products and sales models that target developing countries. In this regard, we believe that our broad geographic presence gives us a solid base upon which to build such future growth.

        A summary of our domestic and international net revenue and net property, plant and equipment is set forth in Note 19 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference. Approximately 65% of our overall net revenue in fiscal 2011 came from outside the United States. The substantial majority of our net revenue originating outside the United States was from customers other than foreign governments.

        For a discussion of risks attendant to HP's foreign operations, see "Risk Factors-Due to the international nature of our business, political or economic changes or other factors could harm our future revenue, costs and expenses and financial condition," in Item 1A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk" in Item 7A and Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which are incorporated herein by reference.

Research and Development

        We remain committed to innovation as a key element of HP's culture. Our development efforts are focused on designing and developing products, services and solutions that anticipate customers' changing needs and desires and emerging technological trends. Our efforts also are focused on identifying the areas where we believe we can make a unique contribution and the areas where partnering with other leading technology companies will leverage our cost structure and maximize our customers' experiences.

        HP Labs, together with the various research and development groups within the five principal business segments, are responsible for our research and development efforts. HP Labs is part of our Corporate Investments segment.

        Expenditures for research and development were $3.3 billion in fiscal 2011, $3.0 billion in fiscal 2010 and $2.8 billion in fiscal 2009. We anticipate that we will continue to have significant research and development expenditures in the future to provide a continuing flow of innovative, high-quality products and services to maintain and enhance our competitive position.

        For a discussion of risks attendant to our research and development activities, see "Risk Factors-If we cannot successfully execute on our strategy and continue to develop, manufacture and market products, services and solutions that meet customer requirements for innovation and quality, our revenue and gross margin may suffer," in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Patents

        Our general policy has been to seek patent protection for those inventions and improvements likely to be incorporated into our products and services or where proprietary rights will improve our

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competitive position. At October 31, 2011, our worldwide patent portfolio included over 36,000 patents, which represents a slight decrease over the number of patents in our patent portfolio at the end of fiscal 2010 but an increase over the number of patents in our patent portfolio at the end of fiscal 2009.

        Patents generally have a term of twenty years from the time they are filed. As our patent portfolio has been built over time, the remaining terms on the individual patents vary. We believe that our patents and applications are important for maintaining the competitive differentiation of our products and services, enhancing our ability to access technology of third parties, and maximizing our return on research and development investments. No single patent is in itself essential to us as a whole or any of our principal business segments.

        In addition to developing our patents, we license intellectual property from third parties as we deem appropriate. We have also granted and continue to grant to others licenses under patents owned by us when we consider these arrangements to be in our interest. These license arrangements include a number of cross-licenses with third parties.

        For a discussion of risks attendant to intellectual property rights, see "Risk Factors-Our revenue, cost of sales, and expenses may suffer if we cannot continue to license or enforce the intellectual property rights on which our businesses depend or if third parties assert that we violate their intellectual property rights," in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Backlog

        We believe that backlog is not a meaningful indicator of future business prospects due to the diversity of our products and services portfolio, including the large volume of products delivered from shelf or channel partner inventories and the shortening of product life cycles. Therefore, we believe that backlog information is not material to an understanding of our overall business.

Seasonality

        General economic conditions have an impact on our business and financial results. From time to time, the markets in which we sell our products experience weak economic conditions that may negatively affect sales. We experience some seasonal trends in the sale of our products and services. For example, European sales often are weaker in the summer months and consumer sales often are stronger in the fourth calendar quarter. Demand during the spring and early summer months also may be adversely impacted by market anticipation of seasonal trends. See "Risk Factors-Our sales cycle makes planning and inventory management difficult and future financial results less predictable," in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Competition

        We encounter aggressive competition in all areas of our business activity. We compete primarily on the basis of technology, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, distribution, range of products and services, ease of use of our products, account relationships, customer training, service and support, and security.

        The markets for each of our business segments are characterized by vigorous competition among major corporations with long-established positions and a large number of new and rapidly growing firms. Product life cycles are short, and to remain competitive we must develop new products and services, periodically enhance our existing products and services and compete effectively on the basis of the factors listed above. In addition, we compete with many of our current and potential partners, including OEMs that design, manufacture and often market their products under their own brand names. Our successful management of these competitive partner relationships will continue to be critical to our future success. Moreover, we anticipate that we will have to continue to adjust prices on many of our products and services to stay competitive.

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        On a revenue basis we are the largest company offering our range of general purpose computers and personal information, imaging and printing products for industrial, scientific, business and consumer applications, and IT services. We are the leader or among the leaders in each of our principal business segments.

        The competitive environments in which each segment operates are described below:

        Personal Systems Group.     The areas in which PSG operates are intensely competitive and are characterized by price competition and inventory depreciation. Our primary competitors for the branded personal computers are Dell, Acer Inc., ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Apple Inc., Lenovo Group Limited and Toshiba Corporation. In particular regions, we also experience competition from local companies and from generically-branded or "white box" manufacturers. Our competitive advantages include our broad product portfolio, our innovation and research and development capabilities, our brand and procurement leverage, our ability to cross-sell our portfolio of offerings, our extensive service and support offerings and the availability of our broad-based distribution of products from retail and commercial channels to direct sales.

        Services.     Our service businesses, including HP Enterprise Services and Technology Services, compete in IT support services, consulting and integration, infrastructure technology outsourcing, business process outsourcing and application services. The IT support services and consulting and integration markets have been under significant pressure as our customers have reduced their IT budgets. However, this trend has benefited the outsourcing services business as customers drive toward lower IT management costs to enable more strategic investments. Our competitors include IBM Global Services, Computer Sciences Corporation, systems integration firms such as Accenture Ltd. and offshore companies such as Fujitsu Limited and India-based competitors Wipro Limited, Infosys Technologies Limited and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. We also compete with other traditional hardware providers, such as Dell, which are increasingly offering services to support their products. Many of our competitors are able to offer a wide range of global services, and some of our competitors enjoy significant brand recognition. Our service businesses team with many companies to offer services, and those arrangements allow us to extend our reach and augment our capabilities. Our competitive advantages are evident in our deep technology expertise, which includes multi-vendor environments, virtualization and automation, our strong track record of collaboration with clients and partners, and the combination of our expertise in infrastructure management with skilled global resources in SAP, AG, Oracle Corporation and Microsoft platforms, among others.

        Imaging and Printing Group.     The markets for printer hardware and associated supplies are highly competitive, especially with respect to pricing and the introduction of new products and features across IPG's consumer, small- to medium-sized business, graphics and enterprise customer segments. Key competitors include Canon U.S.A., Inc., Lexmark International, Inc., Xerox Corporation, Seiko Epson Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Brother Industries, Ltd. In addition, independent suppliers offer refill and remanufactured alternatives for HP original inkjet and toner supplies which, although generally offering lower print quality and reliability, are typically offered at lower prices and put pressure on our supplies sales and margins. Other companies also have developed and marketed new compatible cartridges for HP's laser and inkjet products, particularly outside of the United States where intellectual property protection is inadequate or ineffective. In recent years, we and our competitors have regularly lowered prices on printer hardware to reach new customers and in response to the competitive environment. Important opportunities for future growth include accelerating high-usage unit share, pursuing long-term high-value recurring businesses, capitalizing on the analog to digital transition in graphics, web and mobile content solutions, and continuing to develop cloud-based, document-centric commercial solutions and services.

        Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking.     The areas in which ESSN operates are intensely competitive and are characterized by rapid and ongoing technological innovation and price competition.

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Our competitors range from broad solution providers such as International Business Machines Corporation ("IBM") to more focused competitors such as EMC Corporation and NetApp, Inc. in storage and Dell, Inc. in industry standard servers. We believe that our important competitive advantages in this segment include the six technology components of our converged infrastructure initiatives: IT systems, power and cooling, security, management, virtualization and automation. We believe that our competitive advantages also include our global reach and our significant intellectual property portfolio and research and development capabilities, which will contribute to further enhancements of our product and service offerings and our ability to cross-sell our portfolio and leverage scale advantages in everything from brand to procurement leverage.

        HP Software.     The areas in which HP Software operates are fueled by rapidly changing customer requirements and technologies. We market enterprise IT management software in competition with IBM, CA, Inc., BMC Software, Inc. and others. Our information management solutions compete with products from companies like IBM, EMC, and Symantec Corporation. We also deliver enterprise security/risk intelligence solutions that compete with products from Symantec, IBM, Cisco, and McAfee. As new delivery mechanisms such as software-as-a-service come on the scene, we are also confronting less traditional competitors. Our differentiation lies in the breadth and depth of our software and services portfolio and the scope of our market coverage.

        HP Financial Services.     In our financing business, our competitors are captive financing companies, mainly IBM Global Financing, as well as banks and financial institutions. We believe our competitive advantage in this business over banks and financial institutions is our ability to finance products, services and total solutions.

        For a discussion of risks attendant to these competitive factors, see "Risk Factors-Competitive pressures could harm our revenue, gross margin and prospects," in Item 1A, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Environment

        Our operations are subject to regulation under various federal, state, local and foreign laws concerning the environment, including laws addressing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, and the cleanup of contaminated sites. We could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, fines and civil or criminal sanctions, and third-party damage or personal injury claims, if we were to violate or become liable under environmental laws.

        Many of our products are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws governing chemical substances in products and their safe use, including laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of chemical substances and laws restricting the presence of certain substances in electronics products. Some of our products also are, or may in the future be, subject to requirements applicable to their energy consumption. In addition, we face increasing complexity in our product design and procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the chemical and materials composition of our products, their safe use, and their energy efficiency, including requirements relating to climate change. We also are subject to legislation in an increasing number of jurisdictions that makes producers of electrical goods, including computers and printers, financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products (sometimes referred to as "product take-back legislation"). In the event our products become non-compliant with these laws, they could be restricted from entering certain jurisdictions, and we could face other sanctions, including fines.

        Our operations and ultimately our products are expected to become increasingly subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations and international treaties relating to climate change. As these laws, regulations and treaties and similar initiatives and programs are adopted and implemented

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throughout the world, we will be required to comply or potentially face market access limitations or other sanctions, including fines. However, we believe that technology will be fundamental to finding solutions to achieve compliance with and manage those requirements, and we are collaborating with industry, business groups and governments to find and promote ways that HP technology can be used to address climate change and to facilitate compliance with these related laws, regulations and treaties.

        We are committed to maintaining compliance with all environmental laws applicable to our operations, products and services and to reducing our environmental impact across all aspects of our business. We meet this commitment with a comprehensive environmental, health and safety policy, strict environmental management of our operations and worldwide environmental programs and services.

        The liability for environmental remediation and other environmental costs is accrued when HP considers it probable and can reasonably estimate the costs. Environmental costs and accruals are presently not material to our operations or financial position. Although there is no assurance that existing or future environmental laws applicable to our operations or products will not have a material adverse effect on HP's operations or financial condition, we do not currently anticipate material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities.

Executive Officers:

R. Todd Bradley; age 53; Executive Vice President, Personal Systems Group

        Mr. Bradley has served as Executive Vice President of HP's Personal Systems Group since June 2005.

David A. Donatelli; age 46; Executive Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Servers, Storage, Networking and Technology Services

        Mr. Donatelli has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of HP's Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking segment since May 2009 and of HP's Technology Services business unit since June 2011. Previously, Mr. Donatelli served as President of the storage division of EMC Corporation, an information technology company, from September 2007 to April 2009. Prior to that, Mr. Donatelli served as Executive Vice President of Storage Product Operations at EMC from 2006 to September 2007.

John M. Hinshaw; age 41; Executive Vice President, Global Technology and Business Processes

        Mr. Hinshaw has served as Executive Vice President, Global Technology and Business Processes since November 2011. Previously, Mr. Hinshaw served as Vice President and General Manager of Information Solutions at The Boeing Company, an aerospace company, from January 2011 to October 2011 and as Global Chief Information Officer for Boeing from June 2007 to December 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Hinshaw spent 14 years at Verizon Wireless, a telecommunications company, serving most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer from 2005 to June 2007.

Michael J. Holston; age 49; Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

        Mr. Holston has served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since February 2007 and as Secretary since March 2007. Prior to that, he was a partner in the litigation practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where, among other clients, he supported HP as external counsel on a variety of litigation and regulatory matters for more than ten years.

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Martin J. Homlish; age 59; Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

        Mr. Homlish has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since May 2011. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at SAP AG, a software company, from 2000 until April 2011.

Vyomesh I. Joshi; age 57; Executive Vice President, Imaging and Printing Group

        Mr. Joshi has served as Executive Vice President of HP's Imaging and Printing Group since 2002. Mr. Joshi also is a director of Yahoo! Inc.

Tracy S. Keogh; age 50; Executive Vice President, Human Resources

        Ms. Keogh has served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources since April 2011. Previously, Ms. Keogh served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Hewitt Associates, a provider of human resources consulting services, from May 2007 until March 2011. Ms. Keogh served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Bloomberg LP, a financial information provider, during 2006.

Catherine A. Lesjak; age 52; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

        Ms. Lesjak has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2007. Ms. Lesjak served as HP's interim Chief Executive Officer from August 2010 until November 2010. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President from 2003 until December 2006 and as Treasurer from 2003 until March 2007.

Michael R. Lynch; age 46; Executive Vice President, Information Management

        Mr. Lynch has served as Executive Vice President, Information Management since November 2011. Since 1996, Mr. Lynch has served as Chief Executive Officer of Autonomy Corporation plc, an information management company that HP acquired in 2011.

John N. McMullen; age 53; Senior Vice President and Treasurer

        Mr. McMullen has served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer since March 2007. Previously, he served as Vice President of Finance for HP's Imaging and Printing Group from May 2002 until 2007.

James T. Murrin; age 51; Senior Vice President, Controller and Principal Accounting Officer

        Mr. Murrin has served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Principal Accounting Officer since March 2007. Previously, he served as Vice President of Finance for the former Technology Solutions Group since 2004.

William L. Veghte; age 44; Executive Vice President, HP Software

        Mr. Veghte has served as Executive Vice President of HP Software since May 2010. Previously, Mr. Veghte served as Senior Vice President of the Windows business group at Microsoft Corporation, a software company, from February 2008 until January 2010 after having served in various other positions at Microsoft since joining the company in 1990, including Vice President, North America from August 2004 to February 2008.

Giovanni G. Visentin; age 49; Executive Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Services

        Mr. Visentin has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of HP's enterprise services business since August 2011. Previously, Mr. Visentin served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Americas Region of HP's enterprise services business from January 2011 to August 2011. Before joining HP, Mr. Visentin served as General Manager of Integrated Technology

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Services for North America for IBM, a global technology firm, from August 2007 to January 2011 after having served in various other positions at IBM since joining the company in 1985.

Margaret C. Whitman; age 55; President and Chief Executive Officer

        Ms. Whitman has served as HP's President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2011. She has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of HP since January 2011. From March 2011 to September 2011, Ms. Whitman served as a part-time strategic advisor to Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers, a private equity firm. Previously, Ms. Whitman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay Inc., an online marketplace and payments company, from 1998 to March 2008. Prior to joining eBay, Ms. Whitman held executive-level positions at Hasbro Inc., a toy company, FTD, Inc., a floral products company, The Stride Rite Corporation, a footwear company, The Walt Disney Company, an entertainment company, and Bain & Company, a consulting company. Ms. Whitman also serves as a director of The Procter & Gamble Company and Zipcar, Inc.

Jan Zadak; age 47; Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Enterprise Marketing

        Mr. Zadak has served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Enterprise Marketing since April 2011. Previously, Mr. Zadak served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of HP Europe, the Middle East and Africa from April 2010 to April 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Zadak held various other positions with HP since joining the company in 2002, including Senior Vice President of Sales for the former HP Enterprise Business in EMEA from June 2007 to April 2010 and Vice President and Managing Director of Central and Eastern Europe for the former HP Enterprise Business from August 2005 to April 2007.

Employees

        We had approximately 349,600 employees worldwide as of October 31, 2011.

Available Information

        Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available on our website at http://www.hp.com/investor/home, as soon as reasonably practicable after HP electronically files such reports with, or furnishes those reports to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. HP's Corporate Governance Guidelines, Board of Directors committee charters (including the charters of the Audit Committee, HR and Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Governance Committee) and code of ethics entitled "Standards of Business Conduct" also are available at that same location on our website. Stockholders may request free copies of these documents from:

Hewlett-Packard Company
Attention: Investor Relations
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(866) GET-HPQ1 or (866) 438-4771
http://www.hp.com/investor/informationrequest

Additional Information

        Microsoft®, Windows® and Windows Mobile® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Intel®, Itanium® and Intel Itanium® are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

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ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.

        Because of the following factors, as well as other variables affecting our operating results, past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods.

Competitive pressures could harm our revenue, gross margin and prospects.

        We encounter aggressive competition from numerous and varied competitors in all areas of our business, and our competitors may target our key market segments. We compete primarily on the basis of technology, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, distribution, range of products and services, ease of use of our products, account relationships, customer training, service and support, security, availability of application software, and Internet infrastructure offerings. If our products, services, support and cost structure do not enable us to compete successfully based on any of those criteria, our operations, results and prospects could be harmed.

        Unlike many of our competitors, we have a portfolio of businesses and must allocate resources across these businesses while competing with companies that specialize in one or more of these product lines. As a result, we may invest less in certain areas of our businesses than our competitors do, and these competitors may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources available to them than our businesses that compete against them. Industry consolidation also may affect competition by creating larger, more homogeneous and potentially stronger competitors in the markets in which we compete, and our competitors also may affect our business by entering into exclusive arrangements with existing or potential customers or suppliers.

        Companies with whom we have alliances in some areas may be competitors in other areas. For example, in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, an alliance partner that also markets a line of competing servers announced that it intends to cease software development for our Itanium-based servers, which has resulted in orders for our servers being canceled or delayed. If that decision is not reversed or if another solution is not successfully implemented, there would be reduced demand for our Itanium-based servers over the longer term. In addition, companies with whom we have alliances also may acquire or form alliances with our competitors, thereby reducing their business with us. Any inability to effectively manage these complicated relationships with alliance partners could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

        We may have to continue to lower the prices of many of our products and services to stay competitive, while at the same time trying to maintain or improve revenue and gross margin. The markets in which we do business, particularly the personal computer and printing markets, are highly competitive, and we encounter aggressive price competition for all of our products and services from numerous companies globally. Over the past several years, price competition in the market for personal computers, printers and related products has been particularly intense as competitors have aggressively cut prices and lowered their product margins for these products. In addition, competitors in some of the markets in which we compete with a greater presence in lower-cost jurisdictions may be able to offer lower prices than we are able to offer. Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by these and other industry-wide pricing pressures.

        Because our business model is based on providing innovative and high quality products, we may spend a proportionately greater amount on research and development than some of our competitors. If we cannot proportionately decrease our cost structure on a timely basis in response to competitive price pressures, our gross margin and, therefore, our profitability could be adversely affected. In addition, if our pricing and other factors are not sufficiently competitive, or if there is an adverse reaction to our product decisions, we may lose market share in certain areas, which could adversely affect our revenue and prospects.

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        Even if we are able to maintain or increase market share for a particular product, revenue could decline because the product is in a maturing industry. Revenue and margins also could decline due to increased competition from other types of products. For example, growing demand for an increasing array of mobile computing devices and the development of cloud-based solutions may reduce demand for some of our existing hardware products. In addition, refill and remanufactured alternatives for some of HP's LaserJet toner and inkjet cartridges compete with HP's supplies business. Other companies have also developed and marketed new compatible cartridges for HP's LaserJet and inkjet products, particularly in jurisdictions outside of the United States where adequate intellectual property protection may not exist.

If we cannot successfully execute on our strategy and continue to develop, manufacture and market products, services and solutions that meet customer requirements for innovation and quality, our revenue and gross margin may suffer.

        Our long-term strategy is focused on leveraging our portfolio of hardware, software and services as we adapt to a changing/hybrid model of IT delivery and consumption driven by the growing adoption of cloud computing and increased demand for solutions. To successfully execute on this strategy, we need to continue to evolve our historically hardware-centric business model towards a model that includes more software and higher value services offerings. In addition, we need to continue to further evolve the focus of our organization towards the delivery of integrated IT solutions for our customers. Any failure to successfully execute this strategy could adversely affect our operating results.

        The process of developing new high technology products, services and solutions and enhancing existing products, services and solutions is complex, costly and uncertain, and any failure by us to anticipate customers' changing needs and emerging technological trends accurately could significantly harm our market share and results of operations. For example, as we transition to an environment characterized by cloud-based computing and software being delivered as a service, we must continue to successfully develop and deploy cloud-based solutions for our customers. We must make long-term investments, develop or obtain appropriate intellectual property and commit significant resources before knowing whether our predictions will accurately reflect customer demand for our products and services. After we develop a product, we must be able to manufacture appropriate volumes quickly and at low costs. To accomplish this, we must accurately forecast volumes, mixes of products and configurations that meet customer requirements, and we may not succeed at doing so within a given product's life cycle or at all. Any delay in the development, production or marketing of a new product, service or solution could result in us not being among the first to market, which could further harm our competitive position.

        In the course of conducting our business, we must adequately address quality issues associated with our products and services, including defects in our engineering, design and manufacturing processes and unsatisfactory performance under service contracts, as well as defects in third- party components included in our products and unsatisfactory performance by third-party contractors. In order to address quality issues, we work extensively with our customers and suppliers and engage in product testing to determine the causes of problems and to determine appropriate solutions. However, the products and services that we offer are complex, and our regular testing and quality control efforts may not be effective in controlling or detecting all quality issues or errata, particularly with respect to faulty components manufactured by third parties. If we are unable to determine the cause, find an appropriate solution or offer a temporary fix (or "patch") to address quality issues with our products, we may delay shipment to customers, which would delay revenue recognition and could adversely affect our revenue and reported results. Finding solutions to quality issues can be expensive and may result in additional warranty, replacement and other costs, adversely affecting our profits. If new or existing customers have difficulty operating our products or are dissatisfied with our services, our operating margins could be adversely affected, and we could face possible claims if we fail to meet our customers'

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expectations. In addition, quality issues can impair our relationships with new or existing customers and adversely affect our brand and reputation, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Economic weakness and uncertainty could adversely affect our revenue, gross margin and expenses.

        Our revenue and gross margin depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions and the demand for technology hardware, software and services in the markets in which we compete. Economic weakness and uncertainty, including the ongoing macroeconomic challenges in the United States and the debt crisis in certain countries in the European Union, have resulted, and may result in the future, in decreased revenue, gross margin, earnings or growth rates and difficulty managing inventory levels. In addition, sustained uncertainty about current global economic conditions may adversely affect demand for our products and services. Economic weakness and uncertainty also make it more difficult for us to make accurate forecasts of revenue, gross margin and expenses.

        We also have experienced, and may experience in the future, gross margin declines in certain businesses, reflecting the effect of items such as competitive pricing pressures, inventory write-downs and increases in component and manufacturing costs resulting from higher labor and material costs borne by our manufacturers and suppliers that, as a result of competitive pricing pressures or other factors, we are unable to pass on to our customers. In addition, our business may be disrupted if we are unable to obtain equipment, parts or components from our suppliers-and our suppliers from their suppliers-due to the insolvency of key suppliers or the inability of key suppliers to obtain credit.

        Economic weakness and uncertainty could cause our expenses to vary materially from our expectations. Any financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets or any significant financial services institution failures could negatively impact our treasury operations, as the financial condition of such parties may deteriorate rapidly and without notice in times of market volatility and disruption. Poor financial performance of asset markets could lead to increased pension and post-retirement benefit expenses. Other income and expense could vary materially from expectations depending on changes in interest rates, borrowing costs, currency exchange rates, hedging expenses and the fair value of derivative instruments. Economic downturns also may lead to restructuring actions and associated expenses.

We depend on third-party suppliers, and our revenue and gross margin could suffer if we fail to manage suppliers properly.

        Our operations depend on our ability to anticipate our needs for components, products and services and our suppliers' ability to deliver sufficient quantities of quality components, products and services at reasonable prices in time for us to meet critical schedules. Given the wide variety of systems, products and services that we offer, the large number of our suppliers and contract manufacturers that are dispersed across the globe, and the long lead times that are required to manufacture, assemble and deliver certain components and products, problems could arise in planning production and managing inventory levels that could seriously harm us. In addition, our ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of our supply chain could cause supply disruptions and be more expensive, time consuming and resource-intensive than expected. Other supplier problems that we could face include component shortages, excess supply, risks related to the terms of our contracts with suppliers, risks associated with contingent workers, and risks related to our relationships with single source suppliers, as described below.

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as discussed under "Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses" below, we obtain disk drive components from suppliers with operations in Thailand that have been severely impacted by the recent floods in that region, which has caused a short-term reduction in the supply of those components. In addition, our PC business relies heavily upon OMs to manufacture its products and is therefore dependent upon the continuing operations of those OMs to fulfill demand for our PC products. HP represents a substantial portion of the business of some of these OMs, and any changes to the nature or volume of business transacted by HP with a particular OM could adversely affect the operations and financial condition of the OM and lead to shortages or delays in receiving products from that OM. If shortages or delays persist, the price of these components may increase, and we may be exposed to quality issues or the components may not be available at all. We may not be able to secure enough components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build products or provide services in a timely manner in the quantities or according to the specifications needed. Accordingly, our revenue and gross margin could suffer as we could lose time-sensitive sales, incur additional freight costs or be unable to pass on price increases to our customers. If we cannot adequately address supply issues, we might have to reengineer some products or service offerings, resulting in further costs and delays.

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rely on Intel to provide us with a sufficient supply of processors for many of our PCs, workstations and servers, and some of those processors are customized for our products. New products that we introduce may utilize custom components obtained from only one source initially until we have evaluated whether there is a need for additional suppliers. Replacing a single source supplier could delay production of some products as replacement suppliers initially may be subject to capacity constraints or other output limitations. For some components, such as customized components and some of the processors that we obtain from Intel, alternative sources may not exist or those alternative sources may be unable to produce the quantities of those components necessary to satisfy our production requirements. In addition, we sometimes purchase components from single source suppliers under short-term agreements that contain favorable pricing and other terms but that may be unilaterally modified or terminated by the supplier with limited notice and with little or no penalty. The performance of such single source suppliers under those agreements (and the renewal or extension of those agreements upon similar terms) may affect the quality, quantity or price of components to HP. The loss of a single source supplier, the deterioration of our relationship with a single source supplier, or any unilateral modification to the contractual terms under which we are supplied components by a single source supplier could adversely affect our revenue and gross margins.

Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

        Our worldwide operations could be disrupted by earthquakes, telecommunications failures, power or water shortages, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics and other natural or manmade disasters or catastrophic events, for which we are predominantly self-insured. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could result in significant losses, seriously harm our revenue and financial condition, adversely affect our competitive position, increase our costs and expenses, and require substantial expenditures and recovery time in order to fully resume operations. Our corporate headquarters, and a portion of our research and development activities, are located in California, and other critical business operations and some of our suppliers are located in California and Asia, near major earthquake faults known for seismic activity. In addition, all six of our principal worldwide IT data centers are located in the southern United States, making our operations more vulnerable to natural disasters or other business disruptions occurring in that geographical area. The manufacture of product components, the final assembly of our products and other critical operations are concentrated in certain geographic locations, including Shanghai, Singapore and India. We also rely on major logistics hubs primarily in Asia to manufacture and distribute our products and in the southwestern United States to import products into the Americas region. Our operations could be adversely affected if manufacturing, logistics or other operations in these locations are disrupted for any reason, including natural disasters, information technology system failures, military actions or economic, business, labor, environmental, public health, regulatory or political issues. The ultimate impact on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure of being located near major earthquake faults and being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown. However in the event of a major earthquake or other natural disaster or catastrophic event, our revenue, profitability and financial condition could suffer.

        In late July 2011, Thailand began experiencing severe flooding that has caused widespread damage to the local manufacturing industry. HP obtains disk drive components used in its PCs, servers and storage devices from suppliers with operations in Thailand that were and continue to be severely impacted by the flooding. We have experienced and expect to continue to experience a short-term reduction in the supply of these disk drive components. If we are unable to support our ongoing demand for disk drive components, the revenue, gross margins and results of operations of our PC, server and storage businesses may be adversely affected.

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System security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and systems integration issues could disrupt our internal operations or information technology services provided to customers, and any such disruption could reduce our expected revenue, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.

        Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our products. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we produce or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the system. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions.

        We manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data relating to our business. In addition, our outsourcing services business routinely processes, stores and transmits large amounts of data for our clients, including sensitive and personally identifiable information. Breaches of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us or our clients, including the potential loss or disclosure of such information or data as a result of fraud, trickery or other forms of deception, could expose us, our customers or the individuals affected to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, result in litigation and potential liability for us, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business. We also could lose existing or potential customers for outsourcing services or other information technology solutions or incur significant expenses in connection with our customers' system failures or any actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in our products. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures could be significant.

        Portions of our IT infrastructure also may experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with systems integration or migration work that takes place from time to time. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, which could cause business disruptions and be more expensive, time consuming, disruptive and resource-intensive. Such disruptions could adversely impact our ability to fulfill orders and interrupt other processes. Delayed sales, lower margins or lost customers resulting from these disruptions have adversely affected in the past, and in the future could adversely affect, our financial results, stock price and reputation.

The revenue and profitability of our operations have historically varied, which makes our future financial results less predictable.

        Our revenue, gross margin and profit vary among our products and services, customer groups and geographic markets and therefore will likely be different in future periods than our current results. Our revenue depends on the overall demand for our products and services. Delays or reductions in IT spending could materially adversely affect demand for our products and services, which could result in a significant decline in revenues. Overall gross margins and profitability in any given period are dependent partially on the product, service, customer and geographic mix reflected in that period's net revenue. Competition, lawsuits, investigations and other risks affecting those businesses therefore may have a significant impact on our overall gross margin and profitability. Certain segments have a higher fixed cost structure and more variation in gross margins across their business units and product portfolios than others and may therefore experience significant operating profit volatility on a quarterly

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basis. In addition, newer geographic markets may be relatively less profitable due to investments associated with entering those markets and local pricing pressures, and we may have difficulty establishing and maintaining the operating infrastructure necessary to support the high growth rate associated with some of those markets. Market trends, competitive pressures, commoditization of products, seasonal rebates, increased component or shipping costs, regulatory impacts and other factors may result in reductions in revenue or pressure on gross margins of certain segments in a given period, which may necessitate adjustments to our operations.

HP's stock price has historically fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate, which may make future prices of HP's stock difficult to predict.

        HP's stock price, like that of other technology companies, can be volatile. Some of the factors that could affect our stock price are:

        General or industry specific market conditions or stock market performance or domestic or international macroeconomic and geopolitical factors unrelated to HP's performance also may affect the price of HP stock. For these reasons, investors should not rely on recent or historical trends to predict future stock prices, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, following periods of volatility in a company's securities, securities class action litigation against a company is sometimes instituted. If instituted against HP, this type of litigation could result in substantial costs and the diversion of management time and resources.

Our revenue, cost of sales, and expenses may suffer if we cannot continue to license or enforce the intellectual property rights on which our businesses depend or if third parties assert that we violate their intellectual property rights.

        We rely upon patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws in the United States, similar laws in other countries, and agreements with our employees, customers, suppliers and other parties, to establish and maintain intellectual property rights in the products and services we sell, provide or otherwise use in our operations. However, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, infringed or circumvented, or such intellectual property rights may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or otherwise to provide competitive advantages, either of which could result in costly product redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain product offerings or other competitive harm. Further, the laws of certain countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Therefore, in certain jurisdictions we may be unable to protect our proprietary technology adequately against unauthorized third-party copying or use; this, too, could adversely affect our competitive position.

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        Because of the rapid pace of technological change in the information technology industry, much of our business and many of our products rely on key technologies developed or licensed by third parties. We may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties at all or on reasonable terms, or such third parties may demand cross-licenses to our intellectual property. In addition, it is possible that as a consequence of a merger or acquisition, third parties may obtain licenses to some of our intellectual property rights or our business may be subject to certain restrictions that were not in place prior to the transaction. Consequently, we may lose a competitive advantage with respect to these intellectual property rights or we may be required to enter into costly arrangements in order to terminate or limit these rights.

        Third parties also may claim that we or customers indemnified by us are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. For example, individuals and groups frequently purchase intellectual property assets for the purpose of asserting claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies such as HP and their customers. The number of these claims has increased significantly in recent periods and may continue to increase in the future. If we cannot or do not license infringed intellectual property at all or on reasonable terms, or if we are required to substitute similar technology from another source, our operations could be adversely affected. Even if we believe that intellectual property claims are without merit, they can be time-consuming and costly to defend and may divert management's attention and resources away from our business. Claims of intellectual property infringement also might require us to redesign affected products, enter into costly settlement or license agreements, pay costly damage awards, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from importing, marketing or selling certain of our products. Even if we have an agreement to indemnify us against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable or unwilling to uphold its contractual obligations to us.

        Finally, our results of operations and cash flows have been and could continue to be affected in certain periods and on an ongoing basis by the imposition, accrual and payment of copyright levies or similar fees. In certain countries (primarily in Europe), proceedings are ongoing or have been concluded involving HP in which groups representing copyright owners sought to impose upon and collect from HP levies upon equipment (such as PCs, MFDs and printers) alleged to be copying devices under applicable laws. Other such groups have also sought to modify existing levy schemes to increase the amount of the levies that can be collected from HP. Other countries that have not imposed levies on these types of devices are expected to extend existing levy schemes, and countries that do not currently have levy schemes may decide to impose copyright levies on these types of devices. The total amount of the copyright levies will depend on the types of products determined to be subject to the levy, the number of units of those products sold during the period covered by the levy, and the per unit fee for each type of product, all of which are affected by several factors, including the outcome of ongoing litigation involving HP and other industry participants and possible action by the legislative bodies in the applicable countries, and could be substantial. Consequently, the ultimate impact of these copyright levies or similar fees, and the ability of HP to recover such amounts through increased prices, remains uncertain.

Due to the international nature of our business, political or economic changes or other factors could harm our future revenue, costs and expenses and financial condition.

        Sales outside the United States make up approximately 65% of our net revenue. In addition, an increasing portion of our business activity is being conducted in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. Our future revenue, gross margin, expenses and financial condition could suffer due to a variety of international factors, including:

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        The factors described above also could disrupt our product and component manufacturing and key suppliers located outside of the United States. For example, we rely on manufacturers in Taiwan for the production of notebook computers and other suppliers in Asia for product assembly and manufacture.

        As approximately 65% of our sales are from countries outside of the United States, other currencies, including the euro, the British pound, Chinese yuan renminbi and the Japanese yen, can have an impact on HP's results (expressed in U.S. dollars). In particular, the uncertainty with respect to the ability of certain European countries to continue to service their sovereign debt obligations and the related European financial restructuring efforts may cause the value of the euro to fluctuate. Currency variations also contribute to variations in sales of products and services in impacted jurisdictions. For example, in the event that one or more European countries were to replace the euro with another currency, HP sales into such countries, or into Europe generally, would likely be adversely affected until stable exchange rates are established. Accordingly, fluctuations in foreign currency rates, most notably the strengthening of the dollar against the euro, could adversely affect our revenue growth in future periods. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the United States and margins on sales of products that include components obtained from suppliers located outside of the United States. We use a combination of forward contracts and options designated as cash flow hedges to protect against foreign currency exchange rate risks. The effectiveness of our hedges depends on our ability to accurately forecast future cash flows, which is particularly difficult during periods of uncertain demand for our products and services and highly volatile exchange rates. As a result, we could incur significant losses from our hedging activities if our forecasts are incorrect. In addition, our hedging activities may be ineffective or may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial impact resulting from currency variations. Gains or losses associated with hedging activities also may impact our revenue and to a lesser extent our cost of sales and financial condition.

        In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it is common to engage in business practices that are prohibited by laws and regulations applicable to us, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. For example, as discussed in Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements,

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the German Public Prosecutor's Office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC have been investigating allegations that certain current and former employees of HP engaged in bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion or were involved in kickbacks or other improper payments. Although we implement policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with these laws, our employees, contractors and agents, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, may take actions in violation of our policies. Any such violation, even if prohibited by our policies, could have an adverse effect on our business and reputation.

If we fail to manage the distribution of our products and services properly, our revenue, gross margin and profitability could suffer.

        We use a variety of distribution methods to sell our products and services, including third-party resellers and distributors and both direct and indirect sales to both enterprise accounts and consumers. Successfully managing the interaction of our direct and indirect channel efforts to reach various potential customer segments for our products and services is a complex process. Moreover, since each distribution method has distinct risks and gross margins, our failure to implement the most advantageous balance in the delivery model for our products and services could adversely affect our revenue and gross margins and therefore our profitability. Other distribution risks are described below.

Our future operating results may be adversely affected by any conflicts that might arise between our various sales channels, the loss or deterioration of any alliance or distribution arrangement or the loss of retail shelf space. Moreover, some of our wholesale and retail distributors may have insufficient financial resources and may not be able to withstand changes in business conditions, including economic weakness and industry consolidation. Many of our significant distributors operate on narrow product margins and have been negatively affected by business pressures. Considerable trade receivables that are not covered by collateral or credit insurance are outstanding with our distribution and retail channel partners. Revenue from indirect sales could suffer, and we could experience disruptions in distribution if our distributors' financial conditions, abilities to borrow funds in the credit markets or operations weaken.

We must manage inventory effectively, particularly with respect to sales to distributors, which involves forecasting demand and pricing issues. Distributors may increase orders during periods of product shortages, cancel orders if their inventory is too high or delay orders in anticipation of new products. Distributors also may adjust their orders in response to the supply of our products and the products of our competitors and seasonal fluctuations in end-user demand. Our reliance upon indirect distribution methods may reduce visibility to demand and pricing issues, and therefore make forecasting more difficult. If we have excess or obsolete inventory, we may have to reduce our prices and write down inventory. Moreover, our use of indirect distribution channels may limit our willingness or ability to adjust prices quickly and otherwise to respond to pricing changes by competitors. We also may have limited ability to estimate future product rebate redemptions in order to price our products effectively.

If we do not effectively manage our product and services transitions, our revenue may suffer.

        Many of the markets in which we compete are characterized by rapid technological advances in hardware performance and software features and functionality; frequent introduction of new products; short product life cycles; and continual improvement in product price characteristics relative to product performance. To maintain our competitive position in these markets, we must successfully develop and

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introduce new products and services. Among the risks associated with the introduction of new products and services are delays in development or manufacturing, variations in costs, delays in customer purchases or reductions in price of existing products in anticipation of new introductions, difficulty in predicting customer demand for the new offerings and effectively managing inventory levels so that they are in line with anticipated demand, risks associated with customer qualification and evaluation of new products and the risk that new products may have quality or other defects or may not be supported adequately by application software. If we do not make an effective transition from existing products and services to future offerings, our revenue may decline.

        Our revenue and gross margin also may suffer due to the timing of product or service introductions by our suppliers and competitors. This is especially challenging when a product has a short life cycle or a competitor introduces a new product just before our own product introduction. Furthermore, sales of our new products and services may replace sales, or result in discounting of some of our current offerings, offsetting the benefit of even a successful introduction. There also may be overlaps in the current products and services of HP and portfolios acquired through mergers and acquisitions that we must manage. In addition, it may be difficult to ensure performance of new customer contracts in accordance with our revenue, margin and cost estimates and to achieve operational efficiencies embedded in our estimates. Given the competitive nature of our industry, if any of these risks materializes, future demand for our products and services and our results of operations may suffer.

Our revenue and profitability could suffer if we do not manage the risks associated with our IT services business properly.

        The size and significance of the IT services portion of our business have increased in recent periods. The risks that accompany that business differ from those of our other businesses and include the following:

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adjustments to the pricing. This may result in the reduction of our rates for the benchmarked services performed after the implementation of those pricing adjustments, which could decrease the revenues and profitability of our IT services business.

If we fail to comply with our customer contracts or government contracting regulations, our revenue could suffer.

        Our contracts with our customers may include unique and specialized performance requirements. In particular, our contracts with federal, state, provincial and local governmental customers are subject to various procurement regulations, contract provisions and other requirements relating to their formation, administration and performance. Any failure by us to comply with the specific provisions in our customer contracts or any violation of government contracting regulations could result in the imposition of various civil and criminal penalties, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments and, in the case of our government contracts, fines and suspension from future government contracting. In addition, we have in the past been, and may in the future be, subject to qui tam litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government relating to our government contracts, which could include claims for up to treble damages. Further, any negative publicity related to our customer contracts or any proceedings surrounding them, regardless of its accuracy, may damage our business by affecting our ability to compete for new contracts. If our customer contracts are terminated, if we are suspended or disbarred from government work, or if our ability to compete for new contracts is adversely affected, we could suffer a reduction in expected revenue.

Failure to maintain our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity, capital position, borrowing costs and access to capital markets.

        Our credit risk is evaluated by three independent rating agencies. Two of those rating agencies, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings Services, downgraded our ratings on November 30 and December 2, 2011, respectively. Our credit ratings remain under negative outlook by Fitch Ratings Services and have been under review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service since October 28, 2011. These downgrades have increased the cost of borrowing under our credit facilities, have reduced market capacity for our commercial paper, and may require the posting of additional collateral under some of our derivative contracts. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings, and any additional actual or anticipated changes or downgrades in our credit ratings, including any announcement that our ratings are under further review for a downgrade, may further impact us in a similar manner and may have a negative impact on our liquidity, capital position and access to capital markets.

We make estimates and assumptions in connection with the preparation of HP's Consolidated Financial Statements, and any changes to those estimates and assumptions could adversely affect our results of operations.

        In connection with the preparation of HP's Consolidated Financial Statements, we use certain estimates and assumptions based on historical experience and other factors. Our most critical accounting estimates are described in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in this report. In addition, as discussed in Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, we make certain estimates, including decisions related to provisions for legal proceedings and other contingencies. While we believe that these estimates and assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances, they are subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Should any of these estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could adversely affect our results of operations.

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Unanticipated changes in HP's tax provisions, the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities could affect our profitability.

        We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our tax liabilities are affected by the amounts we charge for inventory, services, licenses, funding and other items in intercompany transactions. We are subject to ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions. Tax authorities may disagree with our intercompany charges, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing or other matters and assess additional taxes. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision. However, there can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcomes of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid upon resolution of audits could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax expense and therefore could have a material impact on our tax provision, net income and cash flows. In addition, our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes to our operating structure, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in tax laws and the discovery of new information in the course of our tax return preparation process. In particular, the carrying value of deferred tax assets, which are predominantly in the United States, is dependent on our ability to generate future taxable income in the United States. In addition, President Obama's administration has announced proposals for other U.S. tax legislation that, if adopted, could adversely affect our tax rate. There are also other tax proposals that have been introduced, that are being considered, or that have been enacted by the United States Congress or the legislative bodies in foreign jurisdictions that could affect our tax rate, the carrying value of deferred tax assets, or our other tax liabilities. Any of these changes could affect our profitability.

Our sales cycle makes planning and inventory management difficult and future financial results less predictable.

        In some of our segments, our quarterly sales often have reflected a pattern in which a disproportionate percentage of each quarter's total sales occurs towards the end of such quarter. This uneven sales pattern makes prediction of revenue, earnings, cash flow from operations and working capital for each financial period difficult, increases the risk of unanticipated variations in quarterly results and financial condition and places pressure on our inventory management and logistics systems. If predicted demand is substantially greater than orders, there will be excess inventory. Alternatively, if orders substantially exceed predicted demand, we may not be able to fulfill all of the orders received in the last few weeks of each quarter. Other developments late in a quarter, such as a systems failure, component pricing movements, component shortages or global logistics disruptions, could adversely impact inventory levels and results of operations in a manner that is disproportionate to the number of days in the quarter affected.

        We experience some seasonal trends in the sale of our products that also may produce variations in quarterly results and financial condition. For example, sales to governments (particularly sales to the U.S. government) are often stronger in the third calendar quarter, consumer sales are often stronger in the fourth calendar quarter, and many customers whose fiscal and calendar years are the same spend their remaining capital budget authorizations in the fourth calendar quarter prior to new budget constraints in the first calendar quarter of the following year. European sales are often weaker during the summer months. Demand during the spring and early summer also may be adversely impacted by market anticipation of seasonal trends. Moreover, to the extent that we introduce new products in anticipation of seasonal demand trends, our discounting of existing products may adversely affect our gross margin prior to or shortly after such product launches. Typically, our third fiscal quarter is our weakest and our fourth fiscal quarter is our strongest. Many of the factors that create and affect seasonal trends are beyond our control.

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Any failure by us to execute on our strategy for operational efficiency successfully could result in total costs and expenses that are greater than expected.

        We have an operating framework that includes a disciplined focus on operational efficiency. As part of this framework, we have adopted several initiatives, including our ongoing initiative to transform our supply chain and leverage our corporate infrastructure and a more recent initiative to implement better tools, standardize key processes, integrate critical IT systems, minimize redundant or legacy systems and take other actions to improve our productivity, sales, forecasting and business decisions. We also implemented a multi-year restructuring plan in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 relating to our enterprise services business.

        Our ability to achieve the anticipated cost savings and other benefits from these initiatives within the expected time frame is subject to many estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions are subject to significant economic, competitive and other uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. In addition, we are vulnerable to increased risks associated with implementing changes to our tools, processes and systems given our large portfolio of businesses, the broad range of geographic regions in which we and our customers and partners operate, and the number of acquisitions that HP has completed in recent years. There are also significant risks associated with our enterprise services workforce restructuring plan, including potential delays in the implementation of that plan in highly regulated locations outside of the United States, particularly in Europe and Asia, decreases in employee morale, and the failure to meet operational targets due to the loss of employees. If these estimates and assumptions are incorrect, if we are unsuccessful at implementing changes to our tools, processes and systems, if we experience delays, or if other unforeseen events occur, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop and transition key employees, and failure to do so could seriously harm us.

        In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop and transition qualified executives and other key employees, including those in managerial, technical, sales, marketing and IT support positions. Identifying, developing internally or hiring externally, training and retaining qualified executives, engineers, skilled solutions providers in the IT support business and qualified sales representatives are critical to our future, and competition for experienced employees in the IT industry can be intense. In order to attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash and share-based compensation. Our share-based incentive awards include stock options, restricted stock units and performance-based restricted units, some of which contain conditions relating to HP's stock price performance and HP's long-term financial performance that make the future value of those awards uncertain. If the anticipated value of such share-based incentive awards does not materialize, if our share-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, or if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, our ability to attract, retain, and motivate executives and key employees could be weakened. The failure to successfully hire executives and key employees or the loss of any executives and key employees could have a significant impact on our operations. Further, changes in our management team may be disruptive to our business, and any failure to successfully transition and assimilate key new hires or promoted employees could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Terrorist acts, conflicts, wars and geopolitical uncertainties may seriously harm our business and revenue, costs and expenses and financial condition and stock price.

        Terrorist acts, conflicts or wars (wherever located around the world) may cause damage or disruption to HP, our employees, facilities, partners, suppliers, distributors, resellers or customers or adversely affect our ability to manage logistics, operate our transportation and communication systems

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or conduct certain other critical business operations. The potential for future attacks, the national and international responses to attacks or perceived threats to national security, and other actual or potential conflicts or wars, including the military operations now being wound down in Iraq and the ongoing military operations in Afghanistan have created many economic and political uncertainties. In addition, as a major multinational company with headquarters and significant operations located in the United States, actions against or by the United States may impact our business or employees. Although it is impossible to predict the occurrences or consequences of any such events, they could result in a decrease in demand for our products, make it difficult or impossible to provide services or deliver products to our customers or to receive components from our suppliers, create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain and result in the need to impose employee travel restrictions. We are predominantly uninsured for losses and interruptions caused by terrorist acts, conflicts and wars.

Any failure by us to identify, manage, complete and integrate acquisitions, divestitures and other significant transactions successfully could harm our financial results, business and prospects, and the costs, expenses and other financial and operational effects associated with managing, completing and integrating acquisitions may result in financial results that are different than expected.

        As part of our business strategy, we frequently acquire complementary companies or businesses, divest non-core businesses or assets, enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures and make investments to further our business (collectively, "business combination and investment transactions"). In order to pursue this strategy successfully, we must identify suitable candidates for and successfully complete business combination and investment transactions, some of which may be large or complex, and manage post-closing issues such as the integration of acquired businesses, products or employees. We may not fully realize all of the anticipated benefits of any business combination and investment transaction, and the timeframe for achieving benefits of a business combination and investment transaction may depend partially upon the actions of employees, suppliers or other third parties. In addition, the pricing and other terms of our contracts for business combination and investment transactions require us to make estimates and assumptions at the time we enter into these contracts, and, during the course of our due diligence, we may not identify all of the factors necessary to estimate our costs accurately. Any increased or unexpected costs, unanticipated delays or failure to meet contractual obligations could make these transactions less profitable or unprofitable. Moreover, if we fail to identify and successfully complete business combination and investment transactions that further our strategic objectives, we may be required to expend resources to develop products and technology internally, we may be at a competitive disadvantage or we may be adversely affected by negative market perceptions, any of which could adversely affect our revenue, gross margin and profitability.

        Integration issues are often complex, time-consuming and expensive and, without proper planning and implementation, could significantly disrupt our business. The challenges involved in integration include:

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        Managing business combination and investment transactions requires varying levels of management resources, which may divert our attention from other business operations. These business combination and investment transactions also have resulted, and in the future may result, in significant costs and expenses and charges to earnings, including those related to severance pay, early retirement costs, employee benefit costs, asset impairment charges, charges from the elimination of duplicative facilities and contracts, in-process research and development charges, inventory adjustments, assumed litigation and other liabilities, legal, accounting and financial advisory fees, and required payments to executive officers and key employees under retention plans. Moreover, HP has incurred and will incur additional depreciation and amortization expense over the useful lives of certain assets acquired in connection with business combination and investment transactions, and, to the extent that the value of goodwill or intangible assets with indefinite lives acquired in connection with a business combination and investment transaction becomes impaired, we may be required to incur additional material charges relating to the impairment of those assets. In order to complete an acquisition, we may issue common stock, potentially creating dilution for existing stockholders. We may also borrow to finance acquisitions, and the amount and terms of any potential future acquisition related or other borrowings, as well as other factors, could affect our liquidity and financial condition. In addition, HP's effective tax rate on an ongoing basis is uncertain, and business combination and investment transactions could adversely impact our effective tax rate. We also may experience risks relating to the challenges and costs of closing a business combination and investment transaction and the risk that an announced business combination and investment transaction may not close. As a result, any completed, pending or future transactions may contribute to financial results that differ from the investment community's expectations in a given quarter.

Unforeseen environmental costs could impact our future net earnings.

        We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations concerning environmental protection, including laws addressing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites, the content of our products and the recycling, treatment and disposal of our products, including batteries. In particular, we face increasing complexity in our product design and procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the chemical and materials composition of our products, their safe use, the energy consumption associated with those products, climate change laws and regulations, and product take-back legislation. We could incur substantial costs, our products could be restricted from entering certain jurisdictions, and we could face other sanctions, if we were to violate or become liable under environmental laws or if our products become non-compliant with environmental laws. Our potential exposure includes fines and civil or criminal sanctions, third-party property damage, personal injury claims and clean up costs. Further, liability under some environmental laws relating to contaminated sites can be imposed retroactively, on a joint

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and several basis, and without any finding of noncompliance or fault. The amount and timing of costs under environmental laws are difficult to predict.

Some anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

        We have provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each of which could have the effect of rendering more difficult or discouraging an acquisition of HP deemed undesirable by our Board of Directors. These include provisions:

        These provisions, alone or together, could deter or delay hostile takeovers, proxy contests and changes in control or management of HP. As a Delaware corporation, HP also is subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents some stockholders from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of HP's outstanding common stock.

        Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control of HP could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of HP common stock and also could affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for HP common stock.

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

        Not applicable.

ITEM 2. Properties.

        As of October 31, 2011, we owned or leased a total of approximately 70 million square feet of space worldwide. We owned 47% of this space and leased the remaining 53%. Included in these amounts are 12 million square feet of vacated space, of which 2 million square feet is leased to non-HP interests. We believe that our existing properties are in good condition and are suitable for the conduct of our business.

        As of October 31, 2011, HP core data centers, manufacturing plants, research and development facilities, and warehouse operations occupied 27 million square feet. We own 53% of our data center, manufacturing, research and development, and warehouse space and lease the remaining 47%. The remainder of our space is used for administrative and support activities and occupies 31 million square feet. We own 39% of our administrative and support space and lease the remaining 61%. As of

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October 31, 2011, we have largely completed our plan to reduce our real estate costs and increase our productive utilization by consolidating into several hundred HP core real estate locations worldwide.

        As mentioned above in Item 1. Business, we have seven business segments: PSG, Services, IPG, ESSN, HP Software, HPFS and Corporate Investments. Because of the interrelation of these segments, a majority of these segments use substantially all of the properties at least in part, and we retain the flexibility to use each of the properties in whole or in part for each of the segments.

Principal Executive Offices

        Our principal executive offices, including our global headquarters, are located at 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, California, United States of America.

Headquarters of Geographic Operations

        The locations of our headquarters of geographic operations at October 31, 2011 were as follows:

Product Development and Manufacturing

        The locations of our major product development, manufacturing, and HP Labs at October 31, 2011 were as follows:

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings.

        Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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PART II

ITEM 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

        Information regarding the market prices of HP common stock and the markets for that stock may be found in the "Quarterly Summary" in Item 8 and on the cover page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, respectively, which are incorporated herein by reference. We have declared and paid cash dividends each fiscal year since 1965. In fiscal 2011, we declared dividends of $0.16 per share and $0.24 per share in the first and third quarters, respectively, and paid dividends of $0.08 per share in each of the first and second quarters and $0.12 per share in each of the third and fourth quarters. In fiscal 2010, we declared dividends of $0.16 per share in the first and third quarters and paid dividends of $0.08 per share in each quarter. As of November 30, 2011, there were approximately 111,200 stockholders of record. Additional information concerning dividends may be found in "Selected Financial Data" in Item 6 and in Item 8, which are incorporated herein by reference.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

        There were no unregistered sales of equity securities in fiscal 2011.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

        HP repurchased shares in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 under an ongoing program to manage the dilution created by shares issued under employee stock plans as well as to repurchase shares opportunistically. This program, which does not have a specific expiration date, authorizes repurchases in the open market or in private transactions. All shares repurchased in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 were purchased in open market transactions.

        As of October 31, 2011, HP had remaining authorization of $10.8 billion for future share repurchases, including $0.8 billion remaining under the $10.0 billion repurchase authorization approved by HP's Board of Directors on August 29, 2010 and $10.0 billion under the additional repurchase authorization approved on July 21, 2011.

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Stock Performance Graph and Cumulative Total Return

        The graph below shows the cumulative total stockholder return assuming the investment of $100 on the date specified (and the reinvestment of dividends thereafter) in each of HP common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P Information Technology Index. (1) The comparisons in the graph below are based upon historical data and are not indicative of, or intended to forecast, future performance of our common stock.

(1) The stock performance graph does not include HP's peer group because peer group information is represented and included in the S&P Information Technology Index.

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ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data.

        The information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of results of future operations and should be read in conjunction with Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," of this Form 10-K, which are incorporated herein by reference, in order to understand further the factors that may affect the comparability of the financial data presented below.

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Financial Data

(1) Earnings from operations include the following items, which may materially affect the comparability of the earnings data presented:

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ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.

OVERVIEW

        We are a leading global provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. Our offerings span:

        We have seven business segments for financial reporting purposes: the Personal Systems Group ("PSG"), Services, the Imaging and Printing Group ("IPG"), Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking ("ESSN"), HP Software, HP Financial Services ("HPFS") and Corporate Investments.

        Our strategy and operations are currently focused on the following initiatives:

Strategic Focus

        The core of our business is our hardware products, which include our PC, server, storage, networking, and imaging and printing products. Our software business provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions and security intelligence/risk management solutions delivered in the form of traditional software licenses or as software-as-a-service that allow us to differentiate our hardware products and deploy them in a manner that helps our customers solve problems and meets our customers' needs to manage their infrastructure, operations, application life cycles, application quality and security, business processes, and structured and unstructured data. Our Converged Infrastructure portfolio of servers, storage and networking combined with our Cloud Service Automation software suite enables enterprise and service provider clients to deliver infrastructure, platform and software-as-a-service in a private, public or hybrid cloud environment. Layered on top of our hardware and software businesses is our services business, which provides opportunities to drive usage of HP products and solutions, enables us to implement and manage all the technologies upon which our customers rely, and gives us a platform to be more solution-oriented and a better strategic partner with our customers.

Leveraging our Portfolio and Scale

        We offer one of the IT industry's broadest portfolios of products and services, and we leverage that portfolio to our strategic advantage. For example, we are able to provide servers, storage and networking products packaged with services that can be delivered to customers in the manner of their

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HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)

choosing, be it in-house, outsourced as a service via the Internet or via a hybrid environment. Our portfolio of management software completes the package by allowing our customers to manage their IT operations in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In addition, we are working to optimize our supply chain by eliminating complexity, reducing fixed costs, and leveraging our scale to ensure the availability of components at favorable prices even during shortages. We are also expanding our use of industry standard components in our enterprise products to further leverage our scale.

Investing in our Business

        We are investing in our business to strengthen our position in our core markets and accelerate growth in adjacent markets in anticipation of market trends, such as cloud computing, unstructured data, data center consolidation and automation, digitization, analytics and IT security. We are also creating innovative new products and developing new channels to connect with our customers. In addition, we have been making focused investments to strengthen our portfolio of products and services that we can offer to our customers, both through organic investments as well as through acquisitions. These investments will allow us to expand in higher margin and higher growth industry segments and further strengthen our portfolio of hardware, software and services.

Driving Operational Effectiveness

        We are continuing to work to optimize operational effectiveness across the company. Operational effectiveness remains critical to the success of HP, and we are implementing efficiency, productivity and quality initiatives throughout the company. For example, we are continuing to execute our ongoing initiatives to transform our supply chain and leverage our corporate infrastructure. We have also adopted an initiative to implement better tools, standardize key processes, integrate critical IT systems, minimize redundant or legacy systems and take other actions to improve our productivity, sales, forecasting and business decisions. In addition, we are continuing to implement the multi-year restructuring plan announced in June 2010 relating to our enterprise services business. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for further discussion of this restructuring plan and the associated restructuring charges.

        The following provides an overview of our key fiscal 2011 financial metrics:

(1) Includes Corporate Investments and eliminations.

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HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)