Editor’s note: Danial Callahan is an analyst with Technology Business Research.

HAMPTON, N.H. – Despite its central position in two flat markets, personal computers and printing, HP has reported double-digit annual revenue growth in both, and double-digit operating profit growth in PCs for its most recent quarter.

Growth in printing was, in part, inorganic, following on the company’s acquisition of Samsung’s print business, named S-print. At the same time, the printing business operating profit growth was only 1.6% year-to-year, and operating margin decreased 140 basis points to 16.0%, a consequence of the costs of incorporating S-print.

HP also reported double-digit growth for two relatively small businesses that are seeds for faster future growth, 3D printing and device-as-a-service (DaaS).

In both PCs and printing, HP is leveraging its scale and its partner ecosystem to benefit from market consolidation that follows from the maturing of these two markets. In this consolidation phase, the largest players tend to benefit. In PCs, HP’s gains are similar to those reported by Lenovo; TBR expects Dell Technologies to report similar results.

[HP ranks No. 1 in global PC sales followed by Lenovo and Dell in that order.]

The PC gains were in both unit sales and average unit revenue (AUR), in both consumer and commercial PCs, and in both desktop and notebook computers. The growth in AUR was caused both by price increases reflecting increased component costs and a change in the mix of PCs sold favoring higher-priced models.

TBR expects consolidation in both PCs and printing to continue; the smaller players are either finding survival niches or being acquired or both. HP has adapted to this environment by becoming leaner and more agile, able to navigate changes in the market and the supply chain.

As DaaS and 3D printing grow, TBR expects HP’s growth to accelerate.

(C) TBR