The question this article discusses is whether or not HP is the new king of turnaround, and a better potential investment than Apple.

The Fortunes of Companies Tends to Wax and Wane

Sometimes companies are doing well, and other times not so much –take for example brands like Atari or IBM. IBM was the leader in terms of technology during the 1980s, but when the 1990s came around, it started flailing. It turned around in that it managed to make a return from a negative brand equity, in which people are willing to part with more money for something that doesn’t have a brand attached to it, instead of choosing something that has a negative brand.

By the end of the 1990s, Apple was in similar shape to IBM was at the start, but Steve Jobs made his return, and the company subsequently pulled off one of the strongest turnarounds in the history of technology.

HP may well top Apple, however, because, as badly as Apple was doing in the 1990s, no one actually set it up to fail like HP got set up. HP is where it is now because it was hindered by its own chairwoman!

HP versus Apple Turnarounds

What makes the HP turnaround as fascinating as it is, especially when compared to the earlier efforts of IBM and Apple, is that the company had the deck stacked against its success. When it got spun out as a distinct company from HPE, it managed to get everything that Meg Whitman, the HPE chairwoman at the time, did not want. She had rendered the firm that she was in charge of to have every advantage, and detract hugely from the potential for success for HP.

As a new company, HP started out with most of the old, combined company’s debt along with two businesses that were not only in decline, but viewed as unrecoverable. There seemed to be very little chance of any kind of success.

Dion Weisler, the new CEO, was in a similar position to that of a top naval officer being told that the good news is that you’re captain, the bad news is that it’s the Titanic that you’re going to be captaining. But what happened when Weisler took over was a simple miracle, and he effectively ensured that HP took over the crown from Apple in terms of being the king of turnaround!

HP is Topping Apple’s Growth

The latest financial report from Apple showcases its top line growth at 6%, which is definitely better than it was last quarter. The fact that so many users love the iPhone and playing at optimized Canadian mobile casinos, and use their iOS powered smartphones and tablets for just about everything makes them all the more popular. However, the brands growth still growth pales when compared to HP’s top line growth: 10%. This was achieved by only PC and printer supplies, too.

There is no HP smartphone, and I think it is becoming obvious that the smartphone was the top product of the last ten years, at least in terms of growth. Not having one is analogous to having a family sedan beat a supercar in a race –except that, in the case of HP, this actually happened!