HP Acquires Samsung Printers,Patents

HP was spun off from Hewlett-Packard to sell personal computers,printers,ink and toner,being the leader in the desktop printing industry.Now HP wants to enter the higher growth market for large A3 printer-copier combinations.These devices are geared toward high volume office work group customers.HP is paying 1.05 billion dollars for Samsung's A3 business and thousands of patents.*
Besides the A3 line of business,HP will acquire the ability to manufacture essential mechanisms within laser printers,so they won't have to buy them from other firms anymore.Control of this core technology will help HP to shape the evolution of its laser printers,as well as raise its profit margins.*
The deal brings with it to HP more than 6500 Samsung printing patents and 6,000 Samsung employees-among them,about 1500 engineers.*
HP Inc (HPQ),Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (LSE:SMSN)

Microsoft's Troubled Road

The declining PC business matters,according to Dan Niles,co-Chief Investment Officer at asset manager AlphaOne Capital Partners.Enterprise is still tied to the PC business.Microsoft missed estimates in all five revenue segments.The problem is,you're gonna have more tablets sold than PCs in Q4. Microsoft is a great cash flow business.It's a software company,but it's on the wrong side of the market.It has a good quarter mixed in here and there.Until they figure out how to have a strong smart phone and tablet,they're on the wrong side of a business transition. Google is in a good spot with Android.Eventually,this mobile transition will run its course.For Microsoft,you need stabilisation in the PC market.In 2-3 years from now,you might reconsider the stock. Mr.Niles,Senior Portfolio Manager of the AlphaOne Satori Fund,has a negative position in both Microsoft and Google. Microsoft is currently undergoing a restructuring,in an attempt to better navigate the shifting business landscape. Microsoft(MSFT),Google(GOOG)

What HP Needs From Meg Whitman

Despite beating estimates for both sales and profit,Hewlett-Packard posted an outlook for 2012 below what they were looking for.The pc business was down 2% in Q3,and printing was off about 10%.It looks like the company is resetting the bar,says analyst Aaron Rakers,CFA,Managing Director at Stifel Nicolaus.A lot of downward revisions have already been baked into the stock,and people are hopeful for upward revisions now.
Under new CEO Meg Whitman,the company is keeping the pc business and its economies of scale,leveraging the volume of what the pc business brings.Job One for Meg Whitman is resetting expectations.She must also bring cohesiveness to HP's management team.
Mr.Rakers is neutral on the stock.In order to upgrade it,he needs to feel comfort with the various competitive dynamics across HP's business segments.
Meg Whitman replaced Leo Apotheker in the top job at the firm.She had been CEO of eBay and a candidate in the 2010 California governor's race.
Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)