Wall Street Not Impressed With HP CEO Choice
As of roughly 2:30 p.m. eastern today, check out the following stock activity:
Leo Apotheker doesn’t officially start as Hewlett-Packard’s new CEO until November 1. But today is the first day that investors have been able to react to the news that Apotheker will be HP’s next CEO. And at least for today, investors don’t sound impressed with the appointment. Here’s why.
As of roughly 2:30 p.m. eastern today, check out the following stock activity:
- Hewlett-Packard shares are down roughly 3.7%
- IBM shares are up roughly 1.3%
- Oracle shares are up roughly 1.7%
- Dell shares are up 0.7%
- Cisco Systems shares are up roughly 0.23%
The simple real-time conclusion: Wall Street is underwhelmed with HP’s CEO choice, and some investors are heading for the exits.
Still, let’s keep things in perspective. Apotheker has extensive experience in the global software market, having previously been CEO of SAP. Plus, Wall Street doesn’t always know what’s best for a high-tech company. In the 1990s, for instance, most investors were calling for new CEO Lou Gerstner to break up IBM. Instead, Gerstner went in the opposite direction, kept the company intact, cut costs sharply and built a massive services organization. At the time, Gerstner’s strategy was unconventional… and it worked out pretty darn well.
Switching back to the current situation at HP, Apotheker will have plenty of executive help around him. Most notably for partners, HP’s channel team remains intact, led by Channel Chief Stephen DiFranco.
No cause for alarm. No cause for panic. But The VAR Guy will keep an eye on Apotheker’s relationship with HP investors. The first impression certainly didn’t go that well on Wall Street.
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