Under former CEO Leo Apotheker, HP in mid-August said it would explore the sale or spin-off of the Personal Systems Group (PSG) unit, which deals in PCs, smartphones and tablets. News agency Bloomberg earlier , citing a source familiar with the company's plans.

Speaking on a conference call Thursday, Whitman said that a decision on the group's future would come sometime in the next three months. "With regard to the potential spin off of PSG, we're committed to doing the work right now to determine the best path forward and we expect the board to make a determination by the end of the calendar year if not sooner. This decision is solely based on the value to investors and value to customers," Whitman said.

Whitman was appointed as HP's CEO on Thursday after the company board identified weaknesses in former Apotheker's leadership and felt the need to bring in new leader, said Ray Lane, executive chairman at HP on the conference call.

With razor-thin margins and slowing sales, the PC unit has become a drag as HP moves to emphasize more profitable business areas such as enterprise software, services and hardware. HP in mid-August also said it would kill webOS smartphones and tablets, and a buying frenzy ensued after HP started selling its TouchPad tablets at US$99 to clear out inventory.

Analysts said that the PC business is an integral part of HP's operations and could remain in the company's fold.