HP Splits in Two

HP will separate into two entities on November 1: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which will comprise software, servers, storage, converged systems, and services; as well as HP Inc., which will include the company’s printing products and services.

HP is currently closing the third year in a five-year turnaround plan that so far has included efforts to strengthen the company’s core. An HP press release describes the decision as a move to embrace a rapidly changing industry: “The separation into independent publicly traded companies will provide each company with its own, more focused equity currency, and investors with the opportunity to invest in two companies with compelling and unique financial profiles well suited to their respective businesses.”

On the wide-format side, that means increased focus on “innovation to enable workforces that are more mobile, connected, and productive,” as well as 3D printing, according to Dion Weisler, current executive VP of printing and personal systems. Weisler will head HP Inc. as president and CEO after the split.

Meg Whitman, the company’s current president and CEO, will maintain these positions with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as well as joining HP Inc.’s board of directors. Both companies will remain publicly traded.

Prior to the split, HP was ranked 18th among Interbrand’s 100 Best Global Brands of 2015. Still, it faces ongoing lawsuits from of page-wide “waterfall” printing technology in HP’s PageWide printers, and the state of Michigan, where officials allege that a 10-year enterprise project was left incomplete.