May 29 (Reuters) - HP Inc ( HPQ ) beat Wall Street

estimates for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, signaling a

recovery in the personal computer (PC) market as customers

upgrade their systems.

Like other PC makers, HP experienced a boom in sales during

the pandemic as consumers, businesses and schools stocked up on

tech products and then a subsequent two-year sales slump. That

slump is just now easing.

HP is hoping to ride a wave of upgrades after Microsoft ( MSFT )

last week unveiled a bevy of new AI features designed

to work on a new generation of PCs.

Chief Executive Enrique Lores told Reuters in an interview

that he expects about 10% of HP's PC sales to come from such "AI

PCs" in the second half of the company's fiscal 2024.

"The AI PCs will be really more meaningful in 2025," Lores

said on Wednesday.

"Our (fiscal) year finishes (by the) end of October. So we

will really be at the very beginning still of the

next-generation AI PC space."

Lores said education customers drove sales in the second

quarter, with schools upgrading their systems after a nearly

two-year long demand slump following COVID-19.

HP posted second-quarter revenue of $12.8 billion, above

analysts' average estimate of $12.6 billion, according to LSEG

data.

In the reported quarter, sales of HP's personal systems

segment - home to its desktop and notebook PCs - rose 3% from a

year ago, while its printing segment posted an 8% fall.

The company now expects fiscal 2024 adjusted profit to be in

the range of $3.30 to $3.60 per share, compared with its

previous outlook of between $3.25 and $3.65 per share. The

midpoint of the full-year range was $3.45, above analyst

estimates of $3.43.

It expects adjusted profit per share with a midpoint of 85

cents in the third quarter ending in July, in line with

analysts' average estimate of 85 cents.