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Analysts on Wall Street were generally critical of the merger, as both companies had been struggling before the announcement, and the stock prices of both companies dropped in the months after the merger agreement was made public.

Carly Fiorina, initially seen as HP's savior when she was hired as CEO back in 1999, had seen the company's stock price drop to less than half since she assumed the position, and her job was said to be on shakey ground before the merger announcement.

HP's offer was regarded by analysts to be overvaluing Compaq, due to Compaq's shaky financial performance in the past recent years ( there were rumors that it could run out of money in 12 months and be forced to cease business operations had it stayed independent ), as well as Compaq's own more conservative valuation of its assets.

Detractors of the deal noted that buying Compaq was a " distraction " that would not directly help HP take on IBM's breadth or Dell Computer's direct sales model.

Plus there were significant cultural differences between HP and Compaq ; which made decisions by consensus and rapid autocratic styles, respectively.

One of Compaq's few bright spots was its services business, which was outperforming HP's own services division.