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SAN FRANCISCO — Hewlett-Packard Co. on Wednesday delivered a quarterly profit that indicated its contentious $19 billion takeover of Compaq Computer is progressing better than skeptics predicted. 

The Palo Alto-based company earned $390 million, or 13 cents per share, in the three months ended Oct. 31. If HP and Compaq had been together at the same time last year, the company would have lost $505 million, or 17 cents per share. 

If not for accounting charges unrelated to HP’s ongoing business, the company said it would have earned 24 cents per share. That topped the consensus estimate of 22 cents per share among analysts polled by Thomson First Call. 

HP’s quarterly revenue also exceeded expectations, totaling $18 billion. The consensus analyst estimate was $17.3 billion. 

The performance represented a measure of redemption for HP executives and directors who overcame stiff shareholder resistance spearheaded by the family of the company’s founders to buy Compaq six months ago. 

“We think we are right where we need to be,” Robert Wayman, HP’s chief financial officer, said during an interview Wednesday. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we have made a lot of progress in the first six months. I think we are even running a little ahead of schedule.” 

HP disclosed its results after the market closed. The company’s shares gained 30 cents to close at $16.85 on the New York Stock Exchange, then added an additional $1.55, or 9 percent, in after-hours trading. The surge in extended trading pushed HP’s shares above their price when the Compaq takeover closed in early May. 

Industry analysts warn it’s still far too early to declare HP’s takeover a success. The company still faces a possible backlash from employees and distributors who might rebel against some of the changes brought about by the Compaq deal. 

HP also lost a vital cog in the deal earlier this month when former Compaq CEO Michael Capellas resigned to take the helm at bankrupt WorldCom Inc. 

Capellas’ departure threatens to erode the already fragile morale of the combined work force, said industry analyst Steve Kleynhans of the Meta Group. 

“The merger and the turmoil that emerges from it is not over. It’s going to take at least another year before we really know how this is working,” Kleynhans said. 

HP is confident the two businesses will continue to mesh. The company reaffirmed the consensus earnings estimate of 27 cents per share for its current quarter ending in January.