Hewlett-Packard swung to an $8.9 billion quarterly loss as personal computer sales shrank. The loss was also linked to HP's $13.9 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems Corp.

The company also on Wednesday reduced its full-year earnings outlook slightly to the low end of its previous range, responding to a faltering PC market as well as touch economic conditions in Europe and also China, where growth too is slowing. Its shares slid more than 4 percent in late trading.

HP is undergoing a multi-year restructuring aimed at focusing the sprawling corporation on enterprise services. The company cut 4,000 jobs in fiscal third quarter and will likely have shorn 11,500 jobs by end of fiscal 2012.

The massive quarterly loss was expected as the company said earlier this month that it would take a noncash charge of $8 billion, primarily writing down the value of its 2008 acquisition of EDS for $13.9 billion.

Revenue from all of HP's main business units fell, with the personal computer division recording the steepest drop of 10 percent, to $8.6 billion.

Services revenue dipped just 3 percent to $8.8 billion.

HP's business continued to be hit by a slowing economy in most of its biggest regions, including Western Europe and China.