Dear fellow shareowners, A year of improving performance 9 letter printed on hp LaserJet paper Systemic, sustainable advances in business and society are seldom defined by a single bold act. Instead, they are realized through the everyday acts of many.  This past year shows what is possible when the 89,000 people of Hewlett-Packard put their minds to some- thing and contribute in their own creative ways to a unified effort. FY00 will go down as a pivotal year in our  history, a year in which hp’s reinvention gained sufficient velocity and direction to begin driving meaningful,  sustainable progress. As we enter the 21st century, we stand at the edge of a new era, an era in which technology will become even more deeply woven into the fabric of business, society and our daily lives. As we enter this era, a new technology landscape is emerging. A landscape that’s defined by truly simple personal devices that run useful Web services— e-services—across an Internet infrastructure that’s always on, always available. We’re heading toward a world where everything will be connected by way of a new generation of technology linked to the Net. We believe that hp has a unique opportunity to transform markets at the intersection of information appliances, useful e-services and an always-on Internet infrastructure. Capitalizing on these opportunities requires us to rein- vent this great company, restructuring and revitalizing ourselves to once again capture the spirit of invention and apply it to solving customer problems and meeting customer needs. Our collective goal in this reinvention is to preserve the best of hp and reinvent the rest. By this I mean that we are maintaining the best attributes we have developed over our 61 years in business—our inventive capability, our focus on the customer, our respect for our employees—while thoroughly reinventing every major component of the organization around these core strengths. From the day I arrived at hp, I have said that the world has yet to see the performance that hp is truly capable  of achieving. With a more consistent strategy that pulls together the many attributes of this company—and with  a renewed inventive spirit—I believe the people of hp can deliver greater and greater value to our customers, our shareowners and our communities. One of the very first commitments I made to hp’s shareowners was to improve hp’s ability to deliver consistent, predictable top- and bottom-line results. Because of the actions we took this year, hp revitalized top-line growth and achieved balanced revenue and earnings growth of 15 percent for the first time in four years. You are starting to see what hp can accomplish when we focus our energy and our resources on a set of shared objectives:  Overall, the numbers reflect the progress we are making, along with the areas where we need to work harder. While we posted four quarters of improving top-line performance for FY00, we failed to meet our profitability  targets in the fourth quarter. And while there were a number of factors at play, many unique to the quarter, the leadership team and I are resolved to meet our commitment to deliver consistent, predictable financial results.  Heading into fiscal year 2001, our goal is to accelerate the reinvention of hp. We are confident that our strategy is on track and our executional abilities are improving. And as we enter increasingly difficult and uncertain eco- nomic times, our portfolio breadth and depth, our reputation for quality and reliability, our financial strength and our deeply rooted global presence will serve as important assets. - Our total revenues grew to $48.8 billion this year—reflecting the new relevance we are gaining with  our customers. - Our return on assets and our return on equity,10.5 percent and 25.1 percent respectively, are strong. - The business continues to generate significant cash, and our balance sheet is exceptional.