H-P, Microsoft Hit by PC Worries

The fallout from two research reports signaling the rapid deterioration of the personal-computer industry touched Hewlett Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. on Thursday, as investors punished two of the companies with the most at stake.

放出个人电脑产业前景迅速恶化这一信号的两份研究报告所带来的负面影响周四冲击了惠普(Hewlett Packard Co.)和微软(Microsoft Corp.)两家公司。与此同时，投资者也惩罚了这两家公司。

On Wednesday research firms IDC and Gartner Inc. published data showing PC shipments fell as much as 14% in the first quarter, with H-P having the sharpest decline at 24%.

周三研究机构国际数据公司(IDC)和Gartner Inc.公布的数据显示，今年一季度个人电脑出货量降幅高达14%，其中惠普的降幅最大，为24%。

H-P investors reacted to the data with alarm on Thursday, sending shares of the world's largest maker of PCs down 6.5% to $20.88.

惠普的投资者周四因这一数据受到惊吓，令这一全球最大个人电脑制造商的股价下降6.5%，至20.88美元。

Analysts couldn't agree on what drove H-P's poor performance in particular, blaming it on everything from inventory adjustments to the company's higher exposure to consumer sales to hopes of added demand from Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system.

至于是什么原因导致惠普业绩不佳，分析师的观点并不一致。有人认为这是库存调整造成的，也有人认为惠普加大了对消费市场的销售，还有人认为是惠普以为微软新推出的Windows 8操作系统会提升需求。

'Perhaps [H-P] and their channel partners were too upbeat about Windows 8, ' said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee, noting that sales to end customers were likely lower than the company had planned, leaving a lot of unclaimed computers in warehouses and on store shelves.

券商Sterne Agee的分析师Shaw Wu说，也许惠普和他们的渠道伙伴对Windows 8太乐观了。他指出，对终端客户的销售很可能低于公司的预期，库房和商店货架上也会剩下许多无人问津的电脑。

An H-P spokesman said the company's continuing position as the top PC maker demonstrates its ongoing commitment to making superior computers while also branching into various tablets for consumers and corporate customers as well.

惠普的一名发言人说，公司长期的最大个人电脑制造商的地位显示出，公司一直在致力于制造品质卓越的电脑，同时也致力于向消费者和企业客户提供多种型号的平板电脑。

Shares of Microsoft, whose Windows software powers the majority of PCs, slipped 4.9% to $28.82, after the company's stock price had touched a six-month high Wednesday.

微软的股票下跌了4.9%，至28.82美元，此前，微软的股票周三触及了六个月高点。大多数个人电脑搭载的都是微软的Windows操作系统。

A spokesman for Microsoft had no immediate comment Thursday.

微软的一名发言人周四没有立即置评。

H-P has struggled amid broader pressures, leading to the worst quarterly decline in shipments since it acquired Compaq Computer in 2003, Gartner said.

Gartner说，惠普一直在来自各个方面的压力下挣扎，以至于出货量出现了自2003年收购康柏电脑以来最大的季度降幅。

Customer interest in mobile devices, such as Apple Inc.'s iPad, have contributed to slowing computer sales, while corporate customers aren't replacing their computers as quickly as in the past. And consumers have given a tepid response to Microsoft's Windows 8, IDC said Wednesday.

消费者对移动设备（如苹果(Apple)的iPad）的兴趣也促成了电脑销售的放缓，企业客户也不像过去那样频繁地更换电脑。IDC周三说，消费者对微软Windows 8的反应不温不火。

H-P's internal dramas also haven't helped, corporate customers have said. Over the past few years, H-P has seen the abrupt exits of two CEOs, an expensive and controversial software acquisition and at least temporary uncertainty over the company's commitment to continue making computers. Last week, Chairman Raymond Lane gave up his position and two other board members resigned amid shareholder opposition.

企业客户说，惠普内部的人事变动也雪上加霜。过去几年间，惠普曾有两名CEO突然离职，实施了一桩昂贵和充满争议的软件收购，而且在公司是否打算继续制造电脑方面至少暂时地出现过不确定性。上周，惠普的董事长莱恩(Raymond Lane)宣布辞职，另外两名董事会成员也因为股东的反对而辞职。

The company's products for consumers and business customers have also come under increasing pressure from competitors.

这家公司针对消费者和企业客户的产品也承受着来自竞争对手的日益增长的压力。

Chinese manufacturer Lenovo Group Ltd., in particular, is H-P's greatest threat. Lenovo's shipments stayed relatively steady in the first quarter, and its share of the shrinking market swelled to within striking distance of H-P's longtime No. 1 position.

中国的电脑制造商联想集团(Lenovo Group Ltd.)是惠普面临的最大威胁。联想的出货量第一季度相对平稳，其在日益缩水的市场中的份额出现增长，已经对惠普长期的霸主地位构成威胁。

Lenovo bought International Business Machines Corp.'s 'ThinkPad' computer business nearly a decade ago and has been pursuing a strategy to turn it into a powerhouse since 2009. The company has already eclipsed Acer Inc. and Dell Inc. in terms of global PC shipments.

将近10年前，联想收购了国际商业机器公司(IBM)的ThinkPad电脑业务，从2009年起就一直致力于将其打造成公司的增长引擎。在全球个人电脑出货量方面，联想已经超过了宏碁(Acer Inc.)和戴尔(Dell Inc.)。

'Lenovo continues to outperform its traditional PC competition and there is still plenty of room to take share in this market, ' a Lenovo spokesman said in a statement.

联想的一名发言人在一份声明中说，联想继续在传统的个人电脑竞争中表现超群，并且还有足够的空间在这一市场夺取份额。

Lenovo has been expanding its offerings of higher-end ThinkPad brand of laptops and amped up its marketing, blanketing airwaves with dramatic ads for its 'Yoga' tablet-computer hybrid.

联想一直在扩大更高端的ThinkPad品牌的笔记本电脑的产品种类，并且加大了营销力度，媒体上到处都是其平板和电脑合二为一产品──Yoga的戏剧化的广告。

With products like the Yoga in particular, Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said in January that Lenovo grabbed more than 40% of the U.S. retail market of computers that cost at least $900 and run Windows 8. 'We are making a lot of progress, ' Mr. Yang said in an interview.