HP Shareholders -- a 4 year perspective

Which four years would you like to discuss?  2005-09 or 2009-2013?

For Feb 2005 through Mar 2009:
DOWN -- Dell, 70%;  Intel, 37%; Microsoft, 33%; Cisco, 4%
UP -- IBM 1%; HP, 64%; Apple, 154%

Well, I'll be darned, no wonder Mark the Knife was viewed as "the savior".  Of course, it came off a low base (Carly had not pumped the stock much), and it came partially by selling off land and building, and cutting R and D.  And since HP was the oldest of these (except for IBM), and it was in a land area where prices had skyrocketed compared to New York near Poughkeepsie, he had a huge cash windfall.

For Mar 2009 through Mar 2013:

DOWN -- HP, 29%
UP -- everyone else.  In fairness, Dell was down 12% until the takeover bid a month ago.  But all the rest are UP,.  Cisco, 35%; Intel, 37%; Dell, 45%; Microsoft, 56%; IBM, 130%; Apple, 440%

Gawd, we lost Hurd, it must be the fault of the 'new folk'.  Or, maybe, as incumbent after incumbent has said, "Hurd broke this so badly it will take years to fix"

But it has been a rough four years, right?  With Hurd, then Cathy Lesjak, then Leo Apothecar; then Ray Lane briefly; and then Meg Whitman at the helm.  And in-between, buying EDS and more than doubling the workforce while adding 20% to revenue, and then Autonomy, draining the cash hoard for pratiacally zero revenue. And -- oh yes -- announcing WebOS and then the fateful TouchPad, and then falling FLAT.