Defense & Aerospace Companies, Volume I - North America: Hewlett-Packard

Started in 1939 as a partnership between Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett, the company was incorporated in 1947 in the state of California. The company's first big customer was Walt Disney Studios. Its first public stock offering was made in 1957. The company's growth has been based on new and existing product line expansions and on acquisitions.

The company is one of the largest industrial companies in the United States, in the Fortune top 10 (2012). About one-half of its revenues are generated outside the United States. Europe is the company's major international market; however, substantial revenues are generated in Japan, the Pacific Rim, Canada, Latin America, and the Far East. The company is one of the United States' top 15 exporters.

In March 1999, HP undertook a strategic realignment that created two independent companies. The computing and imaging businesses retained the HP name. The measurement businesses, however, were merged into a new company, called Agilent Technologies. Agilent is a designer, developer, manufacturer, and provider of communications components, as well as electronic and optical test, measurement, and monitoring instruments and systems.

In 2001, HP and Compaq Computer Corporation merged. The combined entity retained the HP name. HP expanded again in 2008 with the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corporation, which almost doubled the size of the company.

HP employs approximately 349,600 people.