Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Up 5.7% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

Core Viewpoint - Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reported better-than-expected Q3 fiscal 2025 results, with significant revenue growth driven by its Server, Hybrid Cloud, and Financial Services segments, despite a year-over-year decline in non-GAAP earnings per share [3][4]. Financial Performance - HPE's non-GAAP earnings were 44 cents per share, beating estimates by 2.3% but down 12% year-over-year [3]. - Revenues increased 19% year-over-year to $9.1 billion, surpassing estimates by 4.1% [4]. Segment-Wise Performance - Server Segment: Sales rose 16% year-over-year to $4.94 billion, driven by strong demand for AI servers, with an operating profit margin of 6.4%, down 440 basis points from the previous year but up 50 basis points sequentially [5]. - Networking Division: Revenues increased 54% year-over-year to $1.73 billion, with an operating profit margin of 20.8%, contracting 160 basis points year-over-year [6]. - Hybrid Cloud Division: Sales grew 12% year-over-year to $1.48 billion, with an operating profit margin of 5.9%, up 70 basis points year-over-year [7]. - Financial Services Segment: Revenues of $886 million increased 1% year-over-year, with an operating margin of 9.9%, expanding 90 basis points year-over-year [8]. Operating Results - Non-GAAP gross profit was $2.73 billion, up 11.5% year-over-year, with a gross margin of 29.9% [9]. - Non-GAAP operating profit increased 0.8% year-over-year to $777 million, with an operating margin of 8.5% [9]. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow - HPE ended the fiscal third quarter with $457 million in cash, down from $11.67 billion in the previous quarter [10]. - Generated $1.3 billion in cash from operations and $790 million in free cash flow during the quarter [10][11]. Guidance - For Q4 fiscal 2025, HPE forecasts revenues between $9.7 billion and $10.1 billion, with GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share estimates of 50-54 cents and 56-60 cents, respectively [12]. - For fiscal 2025, HPE anticipates revenue growth of 14-16%, up from prior guidance of 7-9%, with revised earnings per share estimates [13]. Market Sentiment - Since the earnings release, consensus estimates have seen a flat trend, with a shift of -7.01% [14]. - HPE currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), indicating an expectation of in-line returns in the coming months [16].