HP's stock flirts with $50 a share today, as the company is set to release full details on its 2009 fiscal year and forecasts for business during 2010. The company will take questions from Wall Street analysts today in a Webcast which starts at 5 PM EST, after the US markets close. (Follow the link at the right, in our Twitter Updates, to find the Webcast page for HP's report.)

The financial condition and strategies of the world's biggest computer and services provider should matter to HP 3000 owners who are migrating. Business plan changes prompted HP to leave the 3000 market when the company decided revenue growth was not great enough to continue 3000 investments. Future surprises about support for non-standard environments could be impacted by financials.

HP took some of the surprise out of today's Q4 results by pre-announcing its financials on Nov. 11. HP said it earned 99 cents a share on revenue of $30.8 billion for the period, compared with a profit of 84 cents a share on $33.5 billion sales during the same period a year ago. HP trotted out those results along with news that it is buying the No. 2 networking equipment provider 3Com Corp for $2.7 billion.

But today's full report will include data on the performance of HP's enterprise server operations. The unit which develops and sells the Integrity systems that run HP-UX, as well as Windows ProLiant servers, is far from the spotlight for financial mavens. Performance of HP's PC business, the company's printer and imaging group, and the rise of the high-profit services unit are much higher on HP's hit parade.