Spinoff paid off

Article Excerpt

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. $50 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 2.4 billion; Market cap: $120.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; WSSF Rating: Above Average) spun off Agilent in November 1999 as part of a plan to focus on its main computer and printer businesses. The company is expanding its computer-services operations, which help businesses manage their hardware and software needs. These services generate higher profits for Hewlett than selling hardware. As well, long-term servicing contracts give it more predictable revenue streams. Hewlett now gets 46% of its revenue from business services. In August 2008, the company paid $13.9 billion for Electronic Data Systems Corp., a leading supplier of computer services to large government agencies and corporations. Hewlett is also paying $2.7 billion for computer-networking equipment maker 3Com Corp. (Nasdaq symbol COMS). The company expects to close the deal in the first half of next year. In its latest fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2009, Hewlett’s revenue fell…