HP's (NYSE: HPQ) stock price tumbled 6% during after-hours trading on Aug. 30 following the company's third-quarter earnings report. The PC and printer maker's revenue decreased 4% year over year to $14.7 billion, missing analysts' estimates by $970 million. Its adjusted net income dropped 10% to $1.1 billion, but it still plowed $1 billion into buybacks to boost its adjusted EPS by 4% to $1.04, which cleared the consensus forecast by a penny.

Those tepid growth rates weren't surprising, since HP's consumer-facing PC and printing markets -- which both experienced growth spurts during the pandemic as more people worked from home -- face supply chain challenges and cyclical slowdowns in a post-lockdown market. But will HP break out of its rut and reward patient investors over the next 12 months?

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Source Fool.com