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HP history
HP company history timeline
1939 1-Jan Hewlett-Packard? Packard-Hewlett? Bill and Dave formalize their partnership on January 1.
HP was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939.
They began giving bonuses to their staff as early as 1940, and they were one of the first companies to give blanket health coverage to their employees.
They made their first donation in 1940.
In 1940, HP moved out of the garage behind Packard’s house and into a rented office space.
Disney used the oscillator to test audio equipment in the 12 specially equipped theaters showing Fantasia in 1940.
The groundbreaking design established Hewlett-Packard’s reputation for innovative, well-made technology, and its quick success helped Bill and Dave move from the garage on Addison Avenue to a rented commercial space in 1940.
HP’s first leased building, 1940
Bill Hewlett tests an audio signal generator, 1940
Dave Packard at his desk, 1942
By 1943, these defense projects had boosted HP’s sales to $1 million.
In 1943, HP made a transition into the development of microwaves.
Other “people-centered” practices followed as the founders fostered a work environment that aimed for innovation and achievement, promoted trust in people and teamwork, and rewarded employees for HP’s success.In 1947, the year HP incorporated, revenues topped $1.5 million.
Bill in the Army Bill serves as a United States Army officer until 1947.
By 1950 the company had 70 products, 143 employees, and revenues of $2 million.
One of its most popular early products was a high-speed frequency counter that it introduced in 1951.
They also released an oscilloscope in 1956.
The IPO was released on November 6, 1957.
In November 1957 Hewlett-Packard offered shares to the public for the first time.
To help fund the development of new products, Hewlett-Packard raised money by issuing public stock in 1957.
HP is recognized as the symbolic founder of Silicon Valley, although it did not actively investigate semiconductor devices until a few years after the “traitorous eight” had abandoned William Shockley to create Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957.
In 1957, HP had its first public stock offering and began manufacturing at its new flagship site in Stanford Research Park, home of HP’s current corporate offices.Soon HP grew its product offerings through a series of acquisitions, all within its focused field of interest—electronics manufacturing.
In 1958, with revenues of $30 million, HP made its first corporate acquisition: the F.L. Moseley Company of Pasadena, California, a manufacturer of graphic recorders.
Dave's 11 Simple Rules In 1958, Dave Packard typed up "Simple Rules" in preparation for the company’s annual management convention.
The company's expansion continued in 1959 with the establishment of a marketing office in Geneva, and a manufacturing facility in Boeblingen, West Germany.
At the end of the 1960’s, Dave Packard left HP to serve as Richard Nixon’s Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Hewlett-Packard’s HP Associates division, established around 1960, developed semiconductor devices primarily for internal use.
In 1961 it began its climb to status as a medical-instrument manufacturer with the purchase of Sanborn Company.
In 1961, HP was listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time.
Many of today’s top companies on the Fortune 500 list were the same companies at the top of the list 1962.
In 1962, HP embarked on their first joint venture while simultaneously entering the Asian market.
HP and Yokogawa formed a joint venture (Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard) in 1963 to market HP products in Japan.
Dave remained president until 1964 when he was elected CEO, and Bill was renamed president.
In 1964 Hewlett-Packard developed a cesium-beam "flying clock," accurate to within one-millionth of a second.
Hewlett-Packard’s first computer, the HP 2116A, was developed in 1966 specifically to manage the company’s test and measurement devices.
In 1966, HP introduced their very first computer.
HP experimented with using Digital Equipment Corporation(DEC) minicomputers with its instruments, but after deciding that it would be easier to build another small design team than deal with DEC, HP entered the computer market in 1966 with the HP 2100 / HP 1000 series of minicomputers.
In 1966 the company opened its central research laboratory, which became one of the world's leading electronic research centers.
In 1966, HP Laboratories— today among the world’s premier technology labs—was formed as the company’s central research facility.
In 1968, HP released a desktop scientific calculator.
Although Programma 101 was the first commercial “desktop computer”, HP is identified by Wired magazine as the producer of the world’s first device to be called a personal computer, the Hewlett-Packard 9100A, introduced in 1968.
Bill Hewlett sees new products developed in Japan, 1969.
In 1972 the company released the HP 3000 general-purpose minicomputer—a product line that remains in use today—for use in business.
However, he returned to the company in 1972 and was reinstated as the Chairman of the Board of HP. Both men had been in the leadership of their company for several decades and were beginning to approach retirement age.
The Model 200 series of generators continued until at least 1972 as the 200AB, still tube-based but improved in design through the years.
Packard returned to his company as a director in 1972.
Despite adverse economic trends, HP continued to develop new technologies and products, tightening its belt rather than incurring longterm debt.The slide rule, once the tool of every engineer, slipped into obsolescence after HP introduced the first scientific handheld calculator, the HP-35, in 1972.
In the spring of 1974 Hewlett and Packard decided, despite record earnings, that the company was growing too fast.
In 1976 an engineering intern at the company, Stephen G. Wozniak, built a prototype for the first personal computer (PC) and offered it to the company.
In 1977 Bill Hewlett relinquished the presidency to John Young, a career HP man determined to make the company successful in the computer market.
Garrett Camp, born on October 4th in 1978, is a famous entrepreneur who is best known for starting …
Hewlett and Packard remained on the board of directors.Focusing on innovation and quality, HP stayed a steady, profitable course as it introduced its first personal computer for technical users in 1980.
The company introduced the HP-75C in 1982, and it became the company’s first handheld computer.
In 1984, HP introduced both inkjet and laser printers for the desktop.
Dell Inc. history, profile and history video Michael Dell founded the company in 1984 from his Texas dorm room, starting a new computer business under the name of PC's Limited.
HP shipped its first LaserJet printer in 1984.
In 1986 the company introduced its new family of Spectrum computer systems, developed at a cost of $250 million.
In 1987, the Palo Alto garage where Hewlett and Packard started their business was designated as a California State historical landmark.
Directors Hewlett and Packard were no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business, and in 1987 Walter B. Hewlett and David Woodley Packard, the sons of the founders, were elected to the board.
In 1988 the company's stock began trading on the Tokyo stock exchange--its first listing outside the United States--then the following year gained listings on four European exchanges: London, Zürich, Paris, and Frankfurt.
In April 1989 Hewlett-Packard paid $500 million for Apollo Computer, a pioneer in the design, manufacture, and sale of engineering workstations.
In 1989 Hewlett-Packard bought Apollo to become the number one workstation maker, a position it shared on and off with Sun and later Dell Inc.
In spite of the new focus on workstation technology and cooperative trade agreements, HP began 1990 with sagging profits and a lackluster consumer response to its new product line.
In 1991, HP launched a new Deskjet model that made color printing attainable for homes and small businesses.
After only a year of development, the Series 700 workstations were introduced in 1991 to universally favorable reviews.
When John Young announced his retirement in July 1992, he presided over a dynamic, if less paternalistic, company.
Lewis E. (Lew) Platt succeeded John Young as president and CEO in 1992.
The first x86 processor-based ProLiant servers were shipped in 1993 by Compaq (later acquired by HP). HP held the No.
Following Packard's retirement as chairman in 1993, Platt was named chairman, president, and CEO of HP.
The first all-in-one printer debuted in 1994 with a design that is not so different from the ubiquitous all-in-one machines available today.
In August 1995 HP went after the home PC market with the launch of the Pavilion line.
Leaving Stride Rite in 1995, she accepted an offer to become CEO of Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD), a federation of commercial florists.
By 1995 HP was the fastest-growing maker of PCs in the world, having initially targeted corporate customers.
Meantime, cofounder David Packard died on March 26, 1996.
Among the reasons for these declining fortunes was the Asian economic crisis, which began in July 1997; HP's slow response to the opportunities presented by the explosion of the Internet; and falling prices for personal computers and computer peripherals.
In 1997 Hewlett-Packard became one of the 30 companies whose stock price makes up the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the New York Stock Exchange.
With the Internet and electronic commerce burgeoning, HP in mid-1997 paid nearly $1.2 billion to acquire VeriFone, Inc., a maker of in-store terminals used to verify credit card transactions.
In 1998, when a corporate headhunter first approached her to lead the online auction company eBay, Whitman was not interested.
In 1998 HP derived 84 percent of its revenues from its computer sector.
In late 1998 the company launched a comprehensive review of its operations.
In any event, it was clear that the turn of the millennium marked the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one, for Hewlett-Packard. It announced in March 1999 that as a result of this review it intended to spin off into a separate firm its noncomputing segments: test and measurement products and service, medical electronic products and service, electronic components, and chemical analysis and service.
In July 1999, HP appointed Carly Fiorina as CEO, the first female CEO of a company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
HP bought Yokogawa Electric’s share of Hewlett-Packard Japan in 1999.
In 1999, all of the businesses not related to computers, storage, and imaging were spun off from HP to form Agilent.
Medical equipment will become a significant source of revenue for HP before being spun off in 2000.
The company also announced that upon completion of the spinoff by mid-2000, Platt would step down as chairman and CEO. A search committee was formed by the company board to find a successor; this person might be an outsider, which would be a company first.
On September 3, 2001, HP announced that an agreement had been reached with Compaq to merge the two companies.
The HP Board of Directors asked Fiorina to step down in 2005, and she resigned on February 9, 2005.
When the supposed benefits of the merger failed to materialize, she was forced out in 2005.
Later in the decade, HP opened hpshopping.com as an independent subsidiary to sell online, direct to consumers; in 2005, the store was renamed “HP Home & Home Office Store.”
HP’s offerings spanned IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging and printing.In 2005, HP Chairman and CEO Fiorina was succeeded by Mark Hurd, former CEO of NCR Corporation, who was named by the board to serve as CEO and president.
Fiorina was replaced as CEO and president by Mark Hurd, who had been CEO of NCR Corporation. (Hurd added the chairman title in 2006.) During Hurd’s tenure the company began a strategic initiative to expand into the mobile-computing arena.
Today the revitalized company continues on its march to become the world’s leading IT company.In 2007, HP is a Fortune 14 company with $97 billion in revenue and 156,000 employees, doing business in more than 170 countries.
The State of California declared the garage at 367 Addison Avenue where Hewlett-Packard was founded a historic landmark and “the birthplace of Silicon Valley.” The site would be entered in the United States National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
In 2008, HP's networking product goes into space, literally—to the International Space Station, making the ProCurve 2524 switch the first commercial Ethernet switch successfully deployed in space.
First introduced in 2008, DreamColor displays address the critical need in the film industry for the richest, most accurate colors.
On November 11, 2009, 3Com and Hewlett-Packard announced that Hewlett-Packard would be acquiring 3Com for $2.7 billion in cash.
After spending a record-breaking $81 million on her primary campaign, she secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination in June 2010.
On August 6, 2010, CEO Mark Hurd resigned amid controversy and CFO Cathie Lesjak assumed the role of interim CEO. On September 30, 2010, Léo Apotheker was named as HP’s new CEO and President.
On September 2, 2010, HP won its bidding war for 3PAR with a $33 a share offer ($2.07 billion) which Dell declined to match.
2010 11-Apr A new paradigm for printing The world's first web-connected home printer is introduced.
On July 1, 2011, HP launched its first tablet named HP TouchPad, bringing webOSto tablet devices.
Apotheker was replaced as CEO in September 2011 by board member Meg Whitman, who had been CEO of the online auction company eBay.
On September 22, 2011, Hewlett-Packard Co. named former eBay Inc.
In early 2011 Whitman became a member of Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors.
On May 23, 2012, HP announced plans to lay off approximately 27,000 employees, after posting a profit decline of 31% in the second quarter of 2012.
On 30 May 2012, HP unveiled its first net zero energy data center.
On September 10, 2012, HP revised their restructuring figures; they are now cutting 29,000 jobs.
In November 2012 Hewlett-Packard accused Autonomy’s management of inflating the value of the company through “accounting improprieties” and announced it would write down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion.
2012 12-Apr Free recycling HP powers a program for free electronics recycling for all brands of office electronics at Staples stores nationwide—regardless of where the products were purchased.
2013 8-Apr Moonshot delivers Based on 10 years of research from HP Labs, Moonshot is the world's first software-defined server.
2013 12-Nov 200 Million and Counting HP celebrates another milestone--building on years of innovation, the 200 millionth LaserJet printer ships.
2013 11-Feb World's Fastest Printer with PageWide HP releases the new HP Officejet Pro X, recognized by Guinness World Records for the fastest time to print by an office color desktop printer.
2014 6-May Helion HP launches a portfolio of open source cloud computing products and services for the enterprise called HP Helion.
In June 2014, during the HP Discover customer event in Las Vegas, Meg Whitman and Martin Fink announced a project for a radically new computer architecture called The Machine.
2014 1-Jan Happy Birthday! Hewlett-Packard Company—the original garage startup—celebrates its 75th anniversary.
2014 6-Jan HP plus Android for business The company's innovative multi-OS approach results in HP's first commercial All-in-One using Google's Android operating system.
2014 23-Feb HP Unveils 360-degree Convertible PC Announces the HP Pavilionx360, an affordable touch convertible PC that transforms the computing experience with a 360-degree hinge.
2014 6-Oct HP to Split Hewlett-Packard Company announces plans to separate into two new publicly traded Fortune 50 companies.
2014 29-Oct Sprout HP announces Sprout PC, a new product category that is the first in its new line of blended reality offerings.
On November 1, 2015, Hewlett-Packard was renamed to HP Inc. and the company enterprise business were spun off and renamed to Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
2015 1-Nov Day One With a leading position in the printing and personal systems markets, HP Inc is set to grow in 3D printing and drive immersive computing.
Whitman became CEO of the latter, but in November 2017 it was announced that she would step down early the following year.
In November 2017, HP acquired Samsung Electronics' printer division for $1.05 billion.
On November 5, 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that print and digital document company Xerox was contemplating acquiring HP. The company unanimously rejected two unsolicited offers, including a cash-and-stock offer at $22 per-share.
Xerox stated in January 2020 that it would propose the replacement of HP's board of directors during its next shareholder meeting in April 2020.
Xerox raised its bid to $24 per-share in February 2020.
On March 31, 2020, Xerox rescinded its bid to buy HP Inc, issuing in a statement, "The current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil caused by COVID-19 have created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP Inc."
The app was launched in April 2020.
In February 2021, HP announced its acquisition of Kingston's gaming division HyperX. The deal only includes computer peripherals branded as HyperX, not memory or storage.
The sale was completed in June 2021.
In February 2022, HP announced it had acquired the Edinburgh-based packaging development company, Choose Packaging, in an effort to strengthen its capabilities in the sustainable packaging vertical.
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HP competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM | 1911 | $62.8B | 270,000 | 3,868 |
| Dell | 1984 | $95.6B | 165,000 | 122 |
| NVIDIA | 1993 | $130.5B | 18,100 | 830 |
| Adobe | 1982 | $21.5B | 11,847 | 1,110 |
| Juniper Networks | 1996 | $5.1B | 9,400 | - |
| Amd | 1969 | $25.8B | 15,500 | 537 |
| Xerox | 1906 | $6.2B | 24,700 | 515 |
| 1998 | $350.0B | 139,995 | 3,912 | |
| Librato, Inc. | - | $13.0B | 63,800 | - |
| Intel | 1968 | $53.1B | 121,100 | 425 |
HP history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of HP, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about HP. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at HP. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by HP. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of HP and its employees or that of Zippia.
HP may also be known as or be related to HP, HP Development Company, L.P., HP Inc, HP Inc., Hp, hp infosystems llc, hewlett packard/eds, hewlett packard/agilent technologies, hewlett-packard -united states - nationwide, peregrine semiconductor corporation and peregrine systems.