Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in 1939. The company's first product, built in a Palo Alto garage, was an audio oscillator—an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. One of HP's first customers was Walt Disney Studios, which purchased eight oscillators to develop and test an innovative sound system for the movie Fantasia.
HP is a company unlike any other. It's a fact underscored by our reach across consumer, small and medium-size business (SMB) and enterprise customer segments; by our presence and leadership in key regions around the world; and by our uniquely rich technology portfolio.
We are focused on helping people apply technology in meaningful ways to their businesses, personal lives and communities. Our annual R&D investment of nearly $4 billion (USD) fuels the invention of products, solutions and new technologies, so that we can better serve customers and enter new markets. We produce an average of 11 patents a day worldwide. In addition to the R&D and innovation in our product and services groups, HP Labs provides a central research function for the company. HP Labs is focused on inventing new technologies that change markets and create business opportunities.
Millions of people around the world use HP technology every day. We're the largest consumer IT company, the world's largest SMB IT company and a leading enterprise IT company. For more than 100 million cell phone subscribers, it is HP software that identifies them when they turn on their phones and allows them to place calls. HP powers 100 of the world's stock and commodity exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and 14 of the world's largest trading markets. In response to customer needs and the changing market conditions, we have built a breadth and depth of portfolio unequaled in the industry. HP technology now ranges from consumer handheld devices all the way to some of the world's largest and most powerful supercomputer installations.
Our strategy is to offer products, services and solutions that are high tech, low cost and deliver the best customer experience. No other company has the portfolio, people and expertise to deliver on all three.
The merger with Compaq Computer Corporation forged a dynamic, powerful team of 145,000 employees doing business in more than 170 countries. Revenues were $86 billion (USD) for the fiscal year that ended October 31, 2005. Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd leads HP, which has corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California.
