Lexmark Falls as Mobile Use Erodes Printer Demand: Atlanta Mover

Lexmark International Inc. (LXK), a maker of laser and inkjet printers, fell the most in more than nine months after Barclays Capital downgraded the shares, citing a slump in corporate spending as more workers use mobile devices.

The stock fell 7.5 percent to $24.31 at the close in New York, for the biggest decline since Sept. 22, 2011. Shares of the Lexington, Kentucky-based company fell 21 percent this year through yesterday.

“Younger workers may not be printing as much given different work habits and higher adoption rates of mobile devices,” said Benjamin Reitzes, an analyst at Barclays in New York, in a research report today. He downgraded the shares to underweight from equalweight and reduced his price estimate to $24 from $29. “Corporations are more acutely aware of printing costs,” he added.

Lexmark and its competitors Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Xerox Corp. (XRX) are experiencing a slowdown in sales of inkjets and entry- level laser printers as corporate customers reduce the number of machines they use, Reitzes said. Lexmark’s sales are projected to slip 4.4 percent to $4 billion this year, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kathleen Chaykowski in New York at kchaykowski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net