HP(HPQ) made a dramatic CEO reshuffle on Thursday, ousting Leo Apotheker and replacing him with former
eBay(EBAY) chief Meg Whitman.
Unpopular with investors, Apotheker had struggled to communicate his strategic vision for the underperforming tech giant. With the company's share price in a nosedive, HP's board felt that new leadership was needed.
"We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman's caliber and experience step up to lead HP," said Ray Lane, executive chairman of the HP board, in a statement. "We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead."
Just a day after replacing Apotheker in HP's C-Suite, Whitman promised to make the company's stock attractive to investors again.
"I see a tremendous opportunity to restore the luster of this Silicon Valley icon," she said, during an interview with
CNBC on Friday, citing the importance of fresh direction at the embattled company. "I think that the number one thing is leadership -- a focus on strategy, operational excellence and communication."
Whitman cited HP's fourth-quarter targets as her immediate priority, although the new CEO must also fix the company's communications and execution.
Investors, though, were underwhelmed by the new CEO. HP's stock ended the week down 2.11% at $22.32.
With rumors continuing to swirl around
Apple's(AAPL) eagerly anticipated iPhone 5,
The Wall Street Journal's blog
AllThingsD reported on Wednesday that the new phone will make its debut on Oct. 4.
The event will mark Tim Cook's first product launch since replacing Steve Jobs as Apple CEO last month, although Apple has not yet confirmed the actual launch date.
The new iPhone -- expected to be redesigned and run o! n a dual -core processor with a better camera -- is likely to go on sale within a few weeks of the announcement, according to
AllThingsD.
Apple shares, which repeatedly hit new highs this week, closed up 0.62% at $404.3 on Friday.Tech investors were closely monitoring Oracle's numbers ahead of a busy earnings season. New software licenses, a key metric for Oracle's health, came in at the high end of the company's range, mirroring archrival
IBM's(IBM) recent strong software performance.
The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based firm also issued robust guidance, pushing up its shares in after-market trading. Oracle's stock ended the week up 1.98% at $28.90.
Another company posting results this week was open source specialist
Red Hat(RHT), which sailed past Wall Street's second-quarter estimates on Wednesday.
Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst told TheStreet that a difficult spending environment has added to the appeal of the firm's open source offerings, which it touts as a cheaper alternative to products from the likes of
Microsoft(MSFT).
Shares of Red Hat closed up 2% at $42.32 on Friday.
Microsoft hiked its dividend after market close on Tuesday, citing the company's recent strong performance.
In a statement, the software maker's board declared a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, an increase of 4 cents, or 25%, on the prior quarter's dividend.
Microsoft shares ended the week flat at $25.06.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Thursday unveiled a slew of new features on the social network, including an updated profile section and new integration with music and entertainment apps.
The changes, however, announced at Facebook's annual f8 developer conference in San Francisco, have already set off criticism from users over privacy concerns.
Key tech sector events during the coming week include Oracle's launch of its next-generation SPARC servers on Mond! ay and a n
Amazon(AMZN) press event in New York on Wednesday, which has fueled expectations that the company will launch its highly anticipated tablet.
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