Why HP Sees Some Customers as a Bad Investment

Printer ink costs about $11,904 a gallon, eight times Dom Pérignon. Here's the business model behind the most expensive liquid in your house, from HP's own annual report. We break down the razor-and-blades myth (Gillette never did it), HP's printing division earning 3.5× the margin of its PC business, the firmware update that locked out third-party cartridges and the fines that followed, Epson's 100 million ink-tank printers, and HP's push to make printing a subscription you never leave. Chapters: 00:00 Three liquids, by the gallon 01:02 The myth of the razor 02:05 The machine, in HP's own words 03:43 What a cartridge really costs 04:29 The lock 06:23 The rival 07:30 HP's answer 09:01 What the math shows 09:35 The lesson Sources: HP Inc. fiscal 2025 Form 10-K: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da... Consumer Reports, "The High Cost of Wasted Printer Ink" (2018): https://www.consumerreports.org/print... Randal C. Picker, "The Razors-and-Blades Myth(s)", University of Chicago Law Review (2011): https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/... HP Support, Dynamic Security enabled printers: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document... ACCC, HP to compensate printer customers (2018): https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release... AGCM (Italy), €10 million fine (2020): https://en.agcm.it/en/media/press-rel... Enrique Lores on CNBC (Jan 2024), via Futurism: https://futurism.com/the-byte/hp-make... Epson, 100 million ink-tank printers (2024): https://press.epson.eu/en_EU/news/eps... Epson No. 1 inkjet share, IDC Q3 2025: https://press.epson.eu/en_EU/news/eps... HP Instant Ink, HP+ and All-In Plan pages: https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/ins... · https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/hp-... · https://www.hp.com/us-en/all-in-plan/... EIA crude oil spot prices: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_... A new video every day on how the world's biggest companies really make their money. Subscribe:    / @howitprofitshq   #PrinterInk #BusinessModel #HowItProfits