Why HPE Earnings Were Not Enough

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE: HPE) reported fiscal second-quarter financial results after markets closed Wednesday. The company posted $0.35 in earnings per share (EPS) and $9.9 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.35 in EPS and $9.64 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.42 in EPS and $12.71 billion in revenue.

For its second quarter segments, HPE reported:

• Enterprise Group revenue was $6.2 billion, down 13% year over year and down 7% when adjusted for divestitures and currency, with an 8.8% operating margin.
• Software revenue was $685 million, down 11% year over year and down 9% when adjusted for divestitures and currency, with a 26.4% operating margin.
• Financial Services revenue was $872 million, up 11% year over year, net portfolio assets were down 1%, and financing volume was down 7%. The business delivered an operating margin of 8.9%.

In terms of guidance for the fiscal third quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $0.24 to $0.28. The consensus estimates are calling for $0.31 in EPS and $7.52 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.

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On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $8.10 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $12.99 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Meg Whitman, President and CEO of HPE, commented:

Despite some current headwinds, we delivered Q2 non-GAAP EPS in line with our outlook. We saw strength in major components of our growth strategy, including high-performance compute, Aruba, all-flash storage and Technology Services.  While we still have much more work to do, HPE’s Q2 results give me confidence that our efforts are delivering for customers and partners.

Shares of HPE closed Wednesday at $18.81, with a consensus analyst price target of $20.02 and a 52-week range of $16.97 to $24.88 Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was initially down 2.6% at $18.32 in the after-hours trading session.

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