When Meg Whitman took the helm as HP's CEO, she famously reversed the decision of her predecessor, Leo Apotheker, to spin off the company's consumer PC business. But according to Quartz, HP's board is again toying with the idea of a breakup — a move directors apparently think could improve the financial outlook for shareholders. Quartz Editor-in-chief Kevin Delaney and Gina Chon write that HP's board is considering a variety of breakup scenarios, though it appears executives first want to give Whitman a chance to return HP to profitability as a cohesive unit — a goal she's expressed as unlikely in 2013.

Even so, HP regaining momentum would likely put to rest any prospects of a company split, so the rumor shouldn't be taken as gospel just yet. But combined with Dell's new path forward (which HP criticized earlier today) it does reiterate how yesterday's PC manufacturers are devising ways to keep afloat in today's "post-PC" era.

Update: AllThingsD, however, says that HP isn't considering anything of the sort right now, citing a source familiar with the matter.