I.B.M.'s PC division lost $1 billion last year and $240 million in the first half of this year.

Revenues from the PC division rose 11 percent to $6.9 billion from the same quarter last year, with profits rising 2.1 percent.

Moreover, by choosing an agency that does not work for the parent company, the PC division can signal its independence to consumers.

How its PC division will be "exited" is to be determined.

The company's PC division, he said, enjoyed its best quarter in several years.

Revenue increased 12.7 percent from the period a year earlier, to $25.5 billion, and the PC division was an important factor.

Over all, revenue in the PC division grew 24 percent, to $8.7 billion.

After all, it didn't ditch the PC division.

The head of HP's PC division has said it should be spun off from the rest of the company.

They were included with the sale of their PC division to Lenovo Group in 2005.