Beating estimates pegged by analysts, Hewlett-Packard Co., on the back of a rapid hike in demand in China, posted a much better than excepted sale of personal computers for the current year's fourth quarter.

For the ongoing fiscal year's fourth quarter up-to October 31, HP's PC sales climbed to $9.86 Billion, and while this is a 12% drop from last year's figure for the same period, it is a 17% increase from the previous quarter, as has been confirmed by the company. HP's revenue and earnings for fourth quarter, which were reported on November 11, managed to top the analysts' estimates.

While rating the company's shares as "buy", Bill Kreher, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, said, "The Company is seeing momentum on the enterprise side as their peers, mainly Dell, lose steam. When you have both the consumer and business categories doing well, particularly in this economy, it bodes well for when things start to improve".

In 2006, HP followed in Dell's footsteps and introduced more sleek and stylish designs, and cut prices. These factors, combined with the company' expansion through acquisitions, have been credited by HP and analysts for the firm's success.