WHEN: Today, Thursday, August 21st
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Hewlett-Packard Chairman & CEO Meg Whitman today on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Video from the interview is available on CNBC.com.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
DAVID FABER: HEWLETT-PACKARD REPORTED AN INCREASE IN ITS QUARTERLY REVENUE, DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY AN INCREASE IN SALES IN THE DIVISION THAT SELLS PERSONAL COMPUTERS, AND TABLETS, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. THIS AS THE COMPANY CONTINUES WITH ITS TURN AROUND EFFORT. JOINING US NOW AT POST 9 IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW IS HEWLETT-PACKARD'S CHAIRMAN AND CEO, MEG WHITMAN. FIRST TIME HERE.
MEG WHITMAN: I KNOW. I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
FABER: YOU ARE VERY WELCOME. WE ALWAYS HAVE YOU EVERY QUARTER. FIRST TIME I'VE SAID CHAIRMAN AS WELL.
WHITMAN: YES.
FABER: AND ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, OF COURSE, WE WISH RALPH WHITWORTH THE BEST.
WHITMAN: YES.
FABER: DOES THAT CHANGE AT ALL? HOW YOU GO ABOUT DOING YOUR JOB?
WHITMAN: NOT REALLY. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, RALPH AND I WORKED TOGETHER VERY CLOSELY, AND WE JUST DECIDED, THE BOARD REALLY DECIDED IT MADE SENSE TO COMBINE THE CHAIR AND CEO ROLE. SO I HAVE DOUBLE RESPONSIBILITY NOW, BUT I THINK IT ACTUALLY FOCUSES THE TURN AROUND, MAINTAINS THE CONSISTENCY OF THE STRATEGY, AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE A GREAT LEAD INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR, PAT RUSSO, WHO I THINK YOU KNOW QUITE WELL.
FABER: YES. I KNOW HER FROM THE LUCENT DAYS AS WELL. ALL RIGHT, TO THE TURN AROUND ITSELF, ALMOST THREE YEARS IN NOW, YOU OF COURSE FOCUSED YESTERDAY ON THE FACT THAT THERE WAS REVENUE GROWTH FOR HEWLETT-PACKARD, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AT LEAST THREE YEARS, BUT IT WAS SPOTTY TO BE FAIR, MEG. PERSONAL SYSYTEMS GROUP WAS UP SHARPLY. PRINTING THOUGH WAS DOWN. AND AS YOU SAID IN THE CONFERENCE CALL, DIFFERENT BUSINESSES, SOME ARE STILL IN DECLINE, SO IS REVENUE GROWTH HERE TO STAY?
WHITMAN: YEAH. WELL, IT WAS A MILESTONE FOR THE COMPANY AFTER THREE YEARS, WE PUT UP 1 % REVENUE GROWTH, WHICH IS OF COURSE NOT OUR ASPIRATION, BUT IT'S BETTER THAN THE DECLINES THAT WE HAVE HAD. AND AS IN ANY TURN AROUND, THERE ARE BRIGHT SPOTS AND THERE ARE SPOTS WE STILL NEED TO WORK ON. AS YOU POINTED OUT, PCs WAS STRONG, SERVERS WAS VERY STRONG, OUR INDUSTRY STANDARD SERVER GROUP UP 9% REVERSING A LONG TERM TREND, TRADITIONAL STORAGE WAS UP. SO WE HAD SOME VERY GOOD BRIGHT SPOTS. WE GOT WORK TO DO.
FABER: YEAH. WHEN YOU SAY "WORK TO DO," WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT IN PARTICULAR?
WHITMAN: WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, LISTEN, WE HAVE WORK TO DO TO MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR SOFTWARE BUSINESS. SOFTWARE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY DIFFICULT TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL LICENSE MODEL TO SAS, AND SO WE HAVE A PORTFOLIO THAT HAS TO MOVE FROM LICENSED TO SAS. WE HAVE SOME VERY GOOD PRODUCTS IN THAT REGARD, BUT THAT IS GOING TO HAVE SOME CHOPPINESS ON THE TOP LINE, BECAUSE AS YOU MOVE FROM A ONE TIME UPFRONT PAYMENT TO A PAYMENT OVER TIME, IT CHANGES THE FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE.
FABER: NOW, WE HAVE SAT HERE MANY TIMES AND TALKED ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE PC, DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE'RE SURROUNDED BY THEM. CLEARLY NOT THE CASE.
WHITMAN: RIGHT.
FABER: BUT THERE ARE STILL THOSE WHO SAY, WELL, THIS IS STILL A CONTRACTING MARKET. YET YOU BELIEVE, I THINK, AND YOU SAID THIS IN THE CALL AS WELL, THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SEE SOME GROWTH THERE. IS THAT LARGELY RESULT OF TAKING MARKET SHARE?
WHITMAN: IT IS LARGELY A RESULT OF TAKING MARKET SHARE. I MEAN, THE TRADITIONAL PC BUSINESS IS PROBABLY A FLAT TO SLIGHTLY DECLINING MARKET OVERTIME, BUT THERE ARE REAL POCKETS OF GROWTH. WORKSTATIONS, AMAZINGLY, IS A POCKET OF GROWTH. CONVERTIBLES ALL IN ONE. SO WE HAVE TO SEGMENT THE MARKET, GO AFTER WHERE THERE IS GROWTH, AND THEN TAKE SHARE. AND YOU ARE SEEING A CONSOLIDATION IN THE INDUSTRY WHERE THE BIG PLAYERS ARE TAKING SHARE FROM SOME OF THE SMALLER PLAYERS.
FABER: ONE OF THE HIGHEST MARGIN BUSINESSES AT YOUR COMPANY IS PRINTING. MARGINS CONTINUE TO MOVE UP THERE. IN FACT, ABOVE WHAT MANY HAD ANTICIPATED, BUT RIGHT NOW, REVENUES ARE NOT MOVING UP.
WHITMAN: YEAH.
FABER: AND THERE'S CERTAINLY SOME CONCERN. GIVE US SOME SENSE THERE AS TO WHY YOU'RE CONFIDENT THAT INK, SO TO SPEAK, AND TONER AS PART OF PRINTING, ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY STABILIZE, IF NOT START TO GROW AGAIN?
WHTIMAN: WELL, THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT ALL-TIME BUSINESSES FOR HEWLETT-PACKARD. AND WHAT WE SEE IN BOTH INK AND TONER IS SOME STABILIZATION, AND WE WILL SEE THAT GOING FORWARD, AND WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IN INK, IS INK IS MOVING UP INTO THE OFFICE. SO YOU THINK OF INK AS PROBABLY YOUR HOME PRINTER, RIGHT?
FABER: YES.
WHITMAN: BUT NOW WE HAVE INK THAT IS TWICE THE SPEED OF LASER, SAME QUALITY, AND HALF THE COST PER PAGE. SO SMALL BUSINESS, MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS, EVEN BIG BUSINESSES ARE SAYING, WOW, THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING WAY TO CUT COSTS. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT OUR INK AND THE OFFICE PRODUCT. IT GREW VERY NICELY IN THE QUARTER.
FABER: AND YOU EXPECT INK IN THE OFFICE IS GOING TO BECOME SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN RELY ON IN TERMS OF AT LEAST DROPPING PRICE?
WHITMAN: OH YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY. SO YOU KNOW, AND THEN ON THE LASER SIDE, LISTEN, WE HAD AN INSTALLED BASE. WE HAD NOT KEPT UP WITH MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS. REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST MET YOU THREE YEARS AGO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS, AND REMEMBER WE HAD NOT HAD A PRODUCT IN SEVEN YEARS?
FABER: RIGHT.
WHITMAN: WE ARE NOW THE LEADER IN MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS. SO THAT MEANS THE INSTALLED BASE WILL IMPROVE AND I THINK TONER WILL RESOLVE ITSELF OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.
FABER: TONER I KNOW BEING HIT IN PART BECAUSE COMPETITION FROM JAPAN, I THINK, THE WEAK YEN.
WHITMAN: YES. WEAK YEN AND, BUT THEN AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR INSTALLED BASE AND THE HIGH-VALUE UNITS, YOU'LL SEE MORE TONER SALES.
JIM CRAMER: MEG, I WANT TO FIRST CONGRATULATE YOU ON THE FREE CASH FLOW. SECOND, ON THE CASH POSITION. DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD BUILD THAT MUCH. IT DOES LEAD TO A QUESTION THAT WAS ON THE CALL, AND I KNOW YOU ANSWERED IT BY SAYING CONSISTENTLY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO RETURN CASH TO SHAREHOLDERS, BUT I THINK YOU'VE GOT TO GET INTO THIS 3-D PRINTING. STRATASYS IS REAL, IT'S GOT REAL EARNINGS, IT IS ALSO MANUFACTURING, IT WOULD COST YOU $7 BILLION TO GET. WHY --
FABER: HE PLAYS BANKER SOMETIMES, AS WELL.
CRAMER: I JUST THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE THE GROWTH STORY THAT WOULD SAY TO PEOPLE, HEWLETT-PACKARD IS NOT PLAYING DEFENSE. IT'S NOT GROWING AT 1%. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO MID-SINGLE DIGITS, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE INTO MANUFACTURING 3-D. IT'S REAL, MEG. WHY NOT DO IT?
WHITMAN: WELL, SO WE ARE GOING TO DO 3-D PRINTING, BUT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE REALLY THE ENTERPRISE SIDE OF 3-D PRINTING AS OPPOSED TO THE CONSUMER SIDE.
CRAMER: RIGHT. BUT THAT'S WHY I SAID STRATASYS, THAT IS MANUFACTURING, NOT 3-D SYSTEMS, NOT GOING THAT WAY.
WHITMAN: EXACTLY.
FABER: BUT ARE YOU DOING IT ALL ORGANICALLY?
WHITMAN: SO WE ARE DOING IT ALL ORGANICALLY. BECAUSE IT HAS A LOT OF SHARED TECHNOLOGY WITH ACTUALLY OUR TONER BUSINESS.
CRAMER: YES. IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE FOR YOU.
WHITMAN: SO WE ARE DOING THAT ORGANICALLY. AS I SAID, THIS FALL WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE TECHNOLOGY, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT BEGIN TO KICK IN FOR HP. BUT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, WE RUN $110 BILLION COMPANY, SO EVEN A COUPLE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE, WHICH WOULD BE FABULOUS FOR A STARTUP, IT'S HARD TO MOVE THE TOP LINE ON A BIG COMPANY LIKE OURS.
CRAMER: WELL, IS THIS THE ISRAELI TECHNOLOGY THEY ARE USING?
WHITMAN: YES. THE ISRAELI TECHNOLOGY.
CRAMER: VERY SMART.
FABER: YOU GOT QUESTIONS ON M&A ON THE CALL FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT I CAN REMEMBER IN PART BECAUSE THERE WAS THIS THING IN THE RELEASE WHERE YOU SAID YOU HAD MATERIAL, NONPUBLIC INFORMATION THAT PREVENTED THE COMPANY FROM BUYING BACK STOCK DURING THAT LAST QUARTER.
WHITMAN: RIGHT.
FABER: WHICH RAISED THIS SPECTOR OF, "OKAY, WHAT WERE THEY WORKING ON? WAS IT M&A RELATED?" WAS IT M&A RELATED?
WHITMAN: RIGHT. SO, I DON'T COMMENT ON IT BECAUSE IT WAS NONPUBLIC, AND SO IF I TOLD YOU, IT WOULD BE PUBLIC.
FABER: THAT IS A GOOD POINT.
CRAMER: WELL THIS IS A DISEMINATION. THE SEC SAYS THIS IS OKAY.
FABER: EXACTLY RIGHT, IT IS. REG FD, WE'RE SAFE. THAT NEVER WORKS, BY THE WAY.
CRAMER: NO. NEVER.
FABER: I NEVER GET A CEO TO TELL ME SOMETHING.
WHITMAN: BUT AS I SAID, YOU KNOW –
FABER: BUT ON THE SUBJECT ON M&A, AND TO JIM'S QUESTION, YOU DID SAY THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER IT NOW.
WHITMAN: YES.
FABER: BUT YOU SEEM TO BE DRAWING A FAIRLY SMALL CIRCLE AROUND, WHICH YOU'RE WILLING TO DO.
WHITMAN: YEAH. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE SPENT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS REPAIRING OUR BALANCE SHEET. AND WE NOW HAVE A NET CASH POSITION OF $4.7 BILLION, WHICH IS SO DIFFERENT WHEN I FIRST STARTED TALKING TO YOU, IT WAS $12.5 BILLION NEGATIVE CASH POSITION. OR NEGATIVE NET DEBT. SO THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE'RE NOW IN A POSITION WHERE WE CAN COMFORTABLY DO M&A, BUT WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT IT AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO OUR CAPITAL ALLOCATION STRATEGY OF RETURNING 50% OF CASH TO SHAREHOLDERS THROUGH SHARE REPURCHASE AND DIVIDENDS. SO THAT DOES LEAVE US SOME ROOM FOR ACQUISITION. BUT WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL, WE WANT TO BE RETURNS BASED, AND WE WANT TO DO THINGS ONLY THAT WE CAN'T DO ORGANICALLY. ONE OF THE CORE VALUES OF THE COMPANY IS INNOVATION, ENGINEERING R&D, AND WHEN WE UNLEASH OUR ENGINEERS, IT IS AMAZING WHAT THEY CAN DO. SO WE WILL ACQUIRE, BUT WE WANT TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT IT.
FABER: WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ENGINEERING AND R&D, I THINK PEOPLE ARE LED TO BELIEVE, OK GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES HERE. BECAUSE THAT IS THE KIND OF THING THAT PEOPLE WILL SEIZE ON, IN TERMS OF THE OLD HP, THE IDEA OF INCREDIBLE INNOVATION. AND THE GROWTH, AND THE –
CRAMER: BIG DATA, BIG CLOUD.
FABER: AND THE GROWTH THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT.
WHITMAN: SO YOU SAW OUR ANNOUNCEMENT IN MAY ON HP HELIUM, WHICH IS OUR HYBRID CLOUD STACK THAT IS BUILT ON OPEN STACK. SO WE HAVE GOTTEN GREAT RECEPTION TO THAT. THINK ABOUT OUR SERVER ROAD MAP. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MOON SHOT, WE INTRODUCED APOLLO IN JUNE, WHICH IS THE FIRST SUPER COOL – WATER COOLED SERVER. SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF INNOVATION. THREE PAR, THE ALL FLASH STORAGE ARRAY, SO THERE'S A LOT OF INNOVATION. LOOK AT INK IN THE OFFICE, ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, INNOVATION. OUR LAPTOPS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE BEST LAPTOPS WE'VE HAD IN YEARS. OUR SOFTWARE DEFINE NETWORKING OFFERING IN OUR NETWORKING GROUP, SO A LOT OF INNOVATION, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS, YOU'RE GOING TO START TO SEE THAT HIT THE MARKET NOW IN A MUCH MORE RAPID PACE THAN WE HAVE BEFORE, AND THAT'S WHAT GROWTH HAS TO BE BUILT UPON.
CRAMER: BUT MEG, I KNOW YOU CANNOT BE HAPPY WITH ENTERPRISE SERVICES 6% DECLINE, NOW WHY IS THAT? YOU HAVE GOOD SALES PEOPLE, GOOD EQUIPMENT, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THAT LINE ITEM?
WHITMAN: SO ENTERPRISE SERVICES, MANY PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW WE'RE THE NUMBER TWO SERVICES BUSINESS IN THE WORLD JUST BEHIND IBM. AND THAT BUSINESS HAD A COUPLE OF BIG ACCOUNTS THAT RAN OFF JUST AS I GOT TO THE COMPANY, ACTUALLY. AND WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THEM, GENERAL MOTORS, BANK OF AMERICA. SO THOSE ARE STILL RUNNING OFF. WE ARE SIGNING NEW LOGOS, BUT IT'S HARD TO SIGN LOGOS FAST ENOUGH TO ACCOUNT FOR THE RUN OFF. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT RUN OFF IS ALMOST COMPLETE NOW, SO NOW WE START FROM A STABLE BASELINE, WHICH WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO GROW FROM.
CRAMER: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT A TROJAN HORSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IBM, NUMBER ONE. AND APPLE, WHERE YOU GIVE THEM THE iPHONE6, AND THEN YOU GO TO THE IT DEPARTMENT AND SAY, "LISTEN, I DON'T WANT MY HEWLETT-PACKARD, ANYMORE. I WANT AN APPLE, I WANT A BEAUTIFUL MAC." YOU HAVE TO BE WORRIED THAT THAT IS A TROJAN HORSE AGAINST YOUR COMPANY, NOT JUST SAMSUNG.
WHITMAN: YEAH, SO, LISTEN, WE WATCHED WITH GREAT INTEREST, OBVIOUSLY, THAT ANNOUNCEMENT, AND, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON, OF COURSE, IS THE iPHONE. THAT IS THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER, AND THAT'S THEIR MAJOR THING. BUT WE HAVE GOT TO BE IN THOSE ACCOUNTS. WE'VE GOT TO SELL THE VALUE OF HEWLETT-PACKARD, WE'VE GOT TO SELL THE VALUE ONE HP SOLUTION, THAT IT'S EASIER TO MANAGE YOUR DEVICES ON A STACK IF YOU'VE GOT ONE MAJOR VENDOR. SO WE'VE GOT A PLAN THERE. ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS, IT'S AMAZINGLY COMPETITIVE. AND YOU SEE IT SITTING HERE AT THIS DESK. THE SPEED OF CHANGE HAS ACCELERATED DRAMATICALLY. WHAT USED TO HAPPENED IN THREE YEARS NOW HAPPENS IN THREE MONTHS. LOOK AT THE CLOUD. YOU KNOW, IF YOU THOUGHT THE CLOUD WOULD BE AS IMPORTANT AS IT WAS EVEN THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, I THINK NO ONE WOULD HAVE SAID THAT THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE CASE.
CRAMER: YEAH, MARC BENIOFF TONIGHT ON "MAD MONEY" I MEAN, SALESFORCE --
WHITMAN: YEAH.
FABER: THE BIGGER PICTURE, THOUGH MEG, I MEAN WHEN PEOPLE WATCH THIS TURN AROUND AS WE HAVE, THANKS TO YOUR WILLINGNESS TO COME ON WITH US EVERY QUARTER AND UPDATE US, COST DISCIPLINE OBVIOUSLY IN THE COMPANY.
WHITMAN: YES.
FABER: STARTING TO SEE SOME GROWTH IN AREAS WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ANTICIPATED. A GO-TO MARKET STRATEGY THAT MANY SAY HAS GREATLY IMPROVED. 50,000 EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE LEFT THE COMPANY BY I GUESS, BY THE END – WILL IT BE THE END OF THIS YEAR OR END OF NEXT YEAR?
WHITMAN: END OF NEXT YEAR.
FABER: END OF NEXT YEAR. BUT WHEN DO YOU TRANSITION, IF YOU DO AT ALL, TO SORT OF A SOLID GROWTH TRAJECTORY?
WHITMAN: YEAH, WELL THAT IS OBVIOUSLY ANOTHER MAJOR MILESTONE FOR THE COMPANY. WE HAD TO GET THE BASICS RIGHT. WE HAD TO GET THE STRATEGY OF THE COMPANY WELL ARTICULATED. WE HAD TO GET OUR INNOVATION ENGINE GOING. WE HAD TO CAPTURE HEARTS AND MINDS OF HP PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN THROUGH A PRETTY ROUGH SPOT. AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR PEOPLE WITH YOU, YOU HAVE NO HOPE. BECAUSE YOUR PEOPLE ARE WHO SHOW UP TO THE CALL FACE OF THE CUSTOMER EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO I WOULD SAY A LOT OF THE BASICS ARE NOW IN PLACE. WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF INVESTMENTS IN AUTOMATION IN SYSTEMS TO ALLOW US TO BE MORE EFFICIENT. AND NOW WE HAVE TO TURN TO CONSISTENT, PROFITABLE GROWTH ACROSS ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES. NOW, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ISSUES IN A COMPANY OUR SCALE, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PROBLEM SOMEWHERE, BUT WE HAVE TO MORE CONSISTENTLY DELIVER PROFITABLE GROWTH ACROSS ALL THE BUSINESSES, AND THAT'S OUR OBJECTIVE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS OF THIS FIVE-YEAR TURN AROUND.
FABER: THERE HAD BEEN A THOUGHT WHEN YOU BEGAN, CERTAINLY, I THINK, AMONG SOME -- EVEN AMONGST YOUR BOARD, PERHAPS, THAT IF THIS DOES NOT WORK, THE BREAK THE GLASS PLAN IS TO SEPARATE BUSINESSES. IS TO SEPARATE THIS COMPANY AND ALLOW EACH OF THESE DIVISIONS TO GO ON THEIR OWN. DO YOU STILL THINK OF THAT AS A POSSIBILITY?
WHITMAN: WELL, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO EXECUTE THE TURN AROUND STRATEGY THAT WE LAID OUT THREE YEARS AGO, AND WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD ON THAT. BUT AS I HAVE SAID TO YOU BEFORE, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO PROVE THAT THESIS. BUT WE DO BELIEVE THAT PROVIDING AN END-TO-END SOLUTION FOR OUR CUSTOMERS IS A VERY IMPORTANT VALUE PROPOSITION. SO, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO PROVE THE THESIS, BUT WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN THE TURN AROUND. I MEAN, I WOULD PULL THE LENS ALL THE WAY BACK AND I'D SAY, WE'RE ABOUT WHERE I THOUGHT I WOULD BE HERE.
FABER: YOU ARE? YOU REALLY ARE?
WHITMAN: YEAH. THIS IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT BETTER, SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT WORSE, BUT ABOUT WHERE I THOUGHT WE'D BE AT, YOU KNOW, HEADING INTO THE FOURTH YEAR.
FABER: THREE YEARS HAS GONE BY IN A FIVE-YEAR TURN AROUND. REALLY QUICKLY, MEG, PARTICULARLY WITH INK SOMETIMES, YOU GET A DECENT READ ON THE ECONOMY WORLDWIDE.
WHITMAN: YES.
FABER: YOU SHARED WITH US IN THE PAST. YOU KNOW, WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT EUROPE RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT EUROPE? WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN TERMS OF SOME TRENDS AROUND THE GLOBE?
WHITMAN: YEAH, SO, WE HAD A GOOD QUARTER IN EUROPE OVERALL IN OUR ENTERPRISE BUSINESS. I WILL SAY THAT EUROPE GOES UP AND DOWN QUITE RAPIDLY. YOU KNOW, SOME SMALL THING HAPPENS IN, YOU KNOW, PORTUGAL OR GREECE, AND, OF COURSE, YOU GET RUSSIA AND THE UKRAINE. OUR OVERALL PERFORMANCE IN EUROPE WAS VERY GOOD. RUSSIA WAS VERY TOUGH. AND, OBVIOUSLY, RUSSIA HAS AN EFFECT ON ALL OF EUROPE, SO I'D SAY EUROPE IS NEXT. THE UNITED STATES, TO ME, FEELS LIKE IT'S GETTING BETTER. AND YOU KNOW, I'VE SAID FOR MANY QUARTERS, "BOY, I DON'T SEE MUCH IMPROVEMENT, IT ACTUALLY FEELS BETTER TO ME." ENTERPRISE SPENDING SEEMS TO BE PICKING UP, THERE IS MORE CONFIDENCE TO GO INVEST IN IT, INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF YOUR SMALL, MEDIUM, BIG BUSINESS. ASIA IS DOING WELL FOR US. AND WE HAD A GOOD QUARTER IN CHINA, UNLIKE SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS, CHINA WAS PRETTY GOOD FOR US. PCs, COMMERCIAL PCs DID WELL, PRINTING ACTUALLY DID WELL IN CHINA, OUR SERVER BUSINESS WAS UP HIGH DOUBLE DIGITS THERE. SO WE HAD A GOOD QUARTER IN CHINA.
FABER: AND FINALLY, MEG. AUTONOMY. IT IS ALMOST TWO YEARS SINCE WE SAT HERE AND TALKED ABOUT – AND YOU DIDN'T USE THE WORDS "FRAUD", BUT I DID. AND HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING. WAS THAT NOT WHAT YOU SAID IT WAS?
WHITMAN: OH, NO. I MEAN, AUTONOMY, I THINK YOU WILL – THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE, AS YOU WELL KNOW, TURN SLOWLY. AND WE APPROPRIATELY, I BELIEVE, TURNED THE INVESTIGATION OVER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, THE SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE IN THE U.K., AND THEY ARE DOING THEIR WORK. AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN MY MIND FROM THE TIME I, YOU KNOW, THAT DAY AFTER EARNINGS WENT ON CNBC AND EXPLAINED EXACTLY WHAT HAD HAPPENED. AND WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT IN OUR CASE THERE.
FABER: MEG, AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
WHITMAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
FABER: PARTICULARLY, BEING HERE LIVE.
WHITMAN: WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. IT IS GREAT FUN TO BE HERE LIVE. IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU. THANKS AN AWFUL LOT.
FABER: YOU ARE VERY WELCOME. THANK YOU. MEG WHITMAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF HP.
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