Revenue from its Personal Systems Group declined by 1 percent, to $10.4 billion. Sales of business PCs were up 11 percent, HP said, but the growth was offset by weak sales to consumers, especially for netbooks computers. HP has also had channel problems in China, though Apotheker said the company is "getting past the issues."

HP's enterprise hardware business fared better. Revenue from servers, network and storage gear climbed 22 percent to $5.6 billion. And revenue from printers and related products increased by 7 percent to $6.6 billion, HP said.

"We reported good results across most of the business but we have opportunities to improve growth in a few areas," Apotheker said.

HP's shares ended the regular trading day at $48.23, down 1 percent. Following the earnings announcement they slumped more than 12 percent in the after-hours markets, to $42.40.

Apotheker took the reins at HP last November and is in the midst of a minor makeover to improve HP's profitability and competitiveness. He's due to outline his plans for the company at an next month.