HP 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations’’ in Item 7, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove
incorrect, the results of Hewlett-Packard Company and its consolidated subsidiaries (‘‘HP’’) may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to any projections of revenue, margins, expenses, tax provisions,
earnings, cash flows, benefit obligations, share repurchases, acquisition synergies, currency exchange rates or
other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future
operations, including the execution of cost reduction programs and restructuring and integration plans; any
statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products or services;
any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any statements regarding pending
investigations, claims or disputes; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and
geopolitical trends and events; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers,
suppliers and partners; the challenge of managing asset levels, including inventory; the difficulty of aligning
expense levels with revenue changes; assumptions related to pension and other post-retirement costs;
expectations and assumptions relating to the execution and timing of cost reduction programs and
restructuring and integration plans; the possibility that the expected benefits of business combination
transactions may not materialize as expected; the resolution of pending investigations, claims and disputes;
and other risks that are described herein, including but not limited to the items discussed in ‘‘Risk Factors’’
in Item 1A of this report, and that are otherwise described or updated from time to time in HP’s Securities
and Exchange Commission reports. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-
looking statements.
PART I
ITEM 1. Business.
HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to
individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses (‘‘SMBs’’) and large enterprises, including
the public and education sectors. Our offerings span:
• personal computing and other access devices,
• imaging and printing-related products and services,
• enterprise information technology infrastructure, including enterprise storage and server
technology and software that optimizes business technology investments, and
• multi-vendor customer services, including technology support and maintenance, consulting and
integration and outsourcing services, as well as application services and business process
outsourcing.
HP was incorporated in 1947 under the laws of the State of California as the successor to a
partnership founded in 1939 by William R. Hewlett and David Packard. Effective in May 1998, we
changed our state of incorporation from California to Delaware.
HP Products and Services; Segment Information
During fiscal 2008, our operations were organized into seven business segments: Enterprise Storage
and Servers (‘‘ESS’’), HP Services (‘‘HPS’’), HP Software, the Personal Systems Group (‘‘PSG’’), the
Imaging and Printing Group (‘‘IPG’’), HP Financial Services (‘‘HPFS’’) and Corporate Investments. In
the fourth quarter of 2008, we added the business operations that we acquired through our acquisition
of Electronic Data Systems Corporation (‘‘EDS’’) as a business unit within HPS for financial reporting
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