Clue 1 · The Basics
U.S. technology hardware company · large-cap · listed on NYSE · headquartered in California.
Clue 2 · The Numbers
Annual revenue around $53 billion, with a business split roughly evenly between personal computers and another iconic product category found in nearly every office.
Clue 3 · The History
Born from a famous 1939 garage startup in Silicon Valley, the company as it exists today was created in 2015 when a tech giant split in two, spinning off the consumer-facing hardware half.
Clue 4 · The Secret
The real money isn't the hardware — it's the ink and toner cartridges that cost more per ounce than fine perfume, and customers keep coming back for them.
Clue 5 · The Lore
That Palo Alto garage where it all began is officially recognized as the birthplace of Silicon Valley, and the company spent decades defining what a personal computer looks like.
Clue 6 · The Giveaway
Their printers and laptops are in millions of homes, their ink subscription service is called Instant Ink, and their ticker is three letters ending in Q.