Respect More Than a Quarter Away for H-P

In the wake of a disastrous financial performance earlier this summer, a chastened Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote) is likely to hand in a respectable report for the quarter ended in October.

But Wall Street, leery of the company's inconsistent earnings record and a dimming growth outlook next year, remains cool to the shares.

The blow-up that took place in August -- when H-P said net income would fall well below expectations for two straight quarters -- deeply rattled investor confidence. The stock has slowly made up losses since then, however, helped along by H-P's buyback of an estimated $2.1 billion of shares during the quarter. Shares closed Monday at $19.42, only a hair below their close on Aug. 11, just before H-P issued its massive earnings warning. ...