HP Marches Forward with Growth Plan, Calls Xerox Proposal ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

As promised, HP Inc. has emerged from its quiet period and announced a multiyear plan to grow earnings and the company, maintaining its commitment to shareholders. At the same time, HP said it’s keeping the door open to further talks with Xerox, which has been on a tear to take over the company for the past few months.

HP’s multiyear strategic and financial value creation plan is expected to deliver $4.7-$5.1 billion of non-GAAP operating profit in fiscal 2022, driven by growth in the company’s printer and 3-D printing and digital manufacturing products, as well as sustained attention to costs, and a new capital return program of about $16 billion from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2022.

HP’s Enrique Lores

“HP is out of the gate strong in [the first quarter], with outstanding earnings and a robust plan to create significant value for shareholders,” said Enrique Lores, president and CEO of HP. “Our three-year financial targets reflect a company at the top of its game, combining the industry’s best innovation with disciplined cost management and aggressive capital returns to support a compelling investment in both the short and long term.”

Lores also noted that Xerox’s most recent bid for the company, at $24 per share or about $34 billion, undervalues HP, creates significant risk and compromises the future of the company.

Here’s a closer look at the last Xerox proposal, as per HP:

• Exchanges HP stock for cash and Xerox stock at a fundamentally flawed value exchange that does not compensate HP shareholders for the value of HP executing on its strategic plan and transfers value from HP shareholders to Xerox shareholders.
• Uses HP’s balance sheet as transaction consideration and creates an irresponsible capital structure that would jeopardize the future value of the combined company and constrain its ability to invest in growth and innovation.
• Overstates the potential synergies by including HP’s existing plans for independent cost reductions and productivity gains.

Always keeping its stockholders front and center, including potential mergers and acquisitions, HP said it will reach out to Xerox to explore if there is a deal that creates value for shareholders that is additive to HP’s strategic and financial plan.

“The HP Board is united in its full support of the company’s strategy and team. HP has a proven track record of consistent value creation and it is well positioned in both print and personal systems to drive operating profit growth and attractive shareholder returns,” said Chip Bergh, chair of HP’s board of directors. “Our new capital return program enables us to optimize our balance sheet while maintaining the appropriate capital structure for the business.”