HP is a company unlike any other. It's a fact underscored by our reach across consumer, small and medium-size business (SMB) and enterprise customer segments; by our presence and leadership in key regions around the world; and by our uniquely rich technology portfolio.
We are focused on helping people apply technology in meaningful ways to their businesses, personal lives and communities. Our annual R&D investment of nearly $4 billion (USD) fuels the invention of products, solutions and new technologies, so that we can better serve customers and enter new markets. We produce an average of 11 patents a day worldwide. In addition to the R&D and innovation in our product and services groups, HP Labs provides a central research function for the company. HP Labs is focused on inventing new technologies that change markets and create business opportunities.
Millions of people around the world use HP technology every day. We're the largest consumer IT company, the world's largest SMB IT company and a leading enterprise IT company. For more than 100 million cell phone subscribers, it is HP software that identifies them when they turn on their phones and allows them to place calls. HP powers 100 of the world's stock and commodity exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and 14 of the world's largest trading markets. In response to customer needs and the changing market conditions, we have built a breadth and depth of portfolio unequaled in the industry. HP technology now ranges from consumer handheld devices all the way to some of the world's largest and most powerful supercomputer installations.
Our strategy is to offer products, services and solutions that are high tech, low cost and deliver the best customer experience. No other company has the portfolio, people and expertise to deliver on all three.
The merger with Compaq Computer Corporation forged a dynamic, powerful team of 150,000 employees doing business in more than 170 countries. Revenues were $79.9 billion (USD) for the fiscal year that ended October 31, 2004. Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina leads HP, which has corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California.
Our consumer business has leadership positions in handhelds, notebooks, printers and cameras - focused on delivering simple, rewarding experiences to hundreds of millions of customers.
Our SMB business leverages innovations from both the consumer and enterprise segments. We have market-leading positions in datacenter and office computing, and we own the imaging and printing market.
The enterprise segment draws from HP's full portfolio of products, services and technologies. We are No. 1 or No. 2 in all three server-based operating environments, and we hold top positions in enterprise storage and IT services management.
With more than 60 years of experience serving the technology needs of the public sector, HP brings the full breadth of its portfolio and alliances to help governments, educators, healthcare providers and others working in the public interest to lower their costs, increase efficiencies and serve their citizens, businesses and other government agencies better.
As proud as we are of our capabilities, we are equally proud of those things that define our character: the dedication of our people, our standards and values, and the reach and depth of our commitment to global citizenship. Since our first year in business in1939, HP has given back to the communities in which we do business in the form of philanthropic donations of money, equipment and time. While the scale and reach of our business have changed in 65 years, our commitment to communities hasn't.
The challenge is to continue to shape the impact of corporations as a constructive force, using our heritage and our actions as tools for doing so. Today, we're employing new models of engagement and new business and technology solutions to enable more people to participate in the world economy via information technology.