HP (HPQ) Stock Downgraded by JPMorgan Amid PC Market Headwinds

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is one of the AI Stocks Making Waves on Wall Street. On October 22, JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “Neutral” from Overweight with a $30 price target. According to the firm, HP is undergoing a rougher backdrop as it moves past the most favorable part of the PC volume and cost cycle.

Analyst Samik Chatterjee has deemed that 2026 will mark “the tail end of the Windows 10 replacement cycle.” This will result in tough comparisons for HP’s commercial PC business.

There is also “a challenging macro environment with limited catalysts to stimulate a replacement cycle for Consumer PCs,” whereas rising memory costs will probably weigh on margins as HP struggles to pass higher input prices on to customers.

“We are downgrading shares of HP Inc. (HP) from Overweight to Neutral as we see the company cycling past the favorable part of the volume and commodity cost cycle into a relatively tougher backdrop,…” ‘

Analysts at the firm also noted how the Windows 10-led replacement cycle has been stronger in 2025 to date, including in the third quarter. This has led them to raise their revenue and earnings forecast for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Oct-end).

“But the flipside of a strong cycle in 2025 helped by a combination of Win 10 support as well as potentially pull forwards earlier in the year on tariff concerns leads to a tougher backdrop for CY26 and CY27 where volumes are expected to remain challenged as they lap the tailwinds in CY25, even as the company has to navigate a higher commodity cost environment, which could sustain if AI infrastructure demand continues to exceed supply.” -Chatterjee and his team.

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) is a technology company that specializes in personal computing and printing solutions.

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