Hewlett-Packard breaks its losing streak with jump in PC sales

HP posted a surprising improvement in PC sales, saying the looming end-of-life of XP was encouraging enterprises to upgrade. In the midst of a multi-year turnaround effort intended to revive growth, HP is trying to reduce its reliance on PCs and move toward computing equipment and networking gear for enterprises. The company broke its losing streak in its PC-focused personal system group with a 4% gain in revenue.

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s risky bet to double down on hardware is showing signs of progress, a critical test for its multiyear turnaround to work. On Thursday, H-P HPQ +2.51% reported revenue from its enterprise group that sells computer servers and other hardware grew almost 1% to nearly $7 billion in the first quarter. That is the second consecutive quarter of growth after two years of declines, though its operating margin fell slightly. In addition, revenue from H-P’s personal-computer group increased 4% to $8.5 billion on the strength of sales to businesses, a surprise since the company signaled in the previous quarter that sales in 2014 were likely to decline.