Executive Summary
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) delivered a solid QQ4 2024 performance with revenue of $8.458 billion, up 15.1% year over year and 9.7% quarter over quarter. Gross profit reached $2.602 billion for a gross margin of 30.76%, while operating income stood at $0.597 billion and net income at $1.366 billion, or $1.02 per share, marking a strong bottom-line expansion (+112% YoY; +167% QoQ). The firm generated robust operating cash flow of $2.03 billion and free cash flow of $1.422 billion, supported by a solid liquidity position (cash and equivalents of about $14.846 billion; total cash including equivalents around $14.846 billion) and a net debt position of roughly $3.4 billion. The quarterly free cash flow margin was approximately 16.8% of revenue, underscoring meaningful cash generation against ongoing R&D investment and operating expenses. The balance sheet remains healthy with a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-capitalization profile that preserves financial flexibility. Management commentary during QQ4 emphasized continued focus on high-growth data center solutions, including servers, storage, and Aruba networking, along with the monetization of consumption-based offerings such as HPE GreenLake. The results position HPE to navigate a data-center spending cycle, though near-term performance will remain sensitive to enterprise IT budgets and competitive dynamics. Overall, the quarter reinforces HPE’s strategic leverage of its diversified product portfolio, strong cash generation, and disciplined capital allocation.
Key Performance Indicators
QoQ: 166.80% | YoY:112.77%
QoQ: 161.54% | YoY:104.00%
Key Insights
Revenue: $8.458B, YoY +15.06%, QoQ +9.70%. Gross Profit: $2.602B, YoY +1.68%, QoQ +6.68%. Gross Margin: 30.76%. Operating Income: $0.597B, YoY +17.75%, QoQ +9.14%. Operating Margin: 7.06%. Net Income: $1.366B, YoY +112%, QoQ +166.80%. Net Margin: 16.15%. EPS: $1.02, YoY +104%, QoQ +161.54%. EBITDA: $1.435B, EBITDA Margin: 16.97%. Cash Flow from Operations: $2.030B. Free Cash Flow: $1.422B. CapEx: $0.608B. Free Cash Flow Margin: 16.8% (FCF / Revenue). Cash balance: $14.846B; Total cash and equiva...
Financial Highlights
Revenue: $8.458B, YoY +15.06%, QoQ +9.70%. Gross Profit: $2.602B, YoY +1.68%, QoQ +6.68%. Gross Margin: 30.76%. Operating Income: $0.597B, YoY +17.75%, QoQ +9.14%. Operating Margin: 7.06%. Net Income: $1.366B, YoY +112%, QoQ +166.80%. Net Margin: 16.15%. EPS: $1.02, YoY +104%, QoQ +161.54%. EBITDA: $1.435B, EBITDA Margin: 16.97%. Cash Flow from Operations: $2.030B. Free Cash Flow: $1.422B. CapEx: $0.608B. Free Cash Flow Margin: 16.8% (FCF / Revenue). Cash balance: $14.846B; Total cash and equivalents: $14.846B. Total assets: $71.263B. Total liabilities: $46.382B. Total debt: $18.246B. Net Debt: $3.40B. Current ratio: 1.288; Quick ratio: 0.987; Cash ratio: 0.572. Dividends paid: $0.169B; Dividend payout ratio (from trailing earnings): 12.4%. Payout coverage metrics indicate solid cash-backed dividend support.
Income Statement
| Metric |
Value |
YoY Change |
QoQ Change |
| Revenue |
8.46B |
15.06% |
9.70% |
| Gross Profit |
2.60B |
1.68% |
6.68% |
| Operating Income |
597.00M |
17.75% |
9.14% |
| Net Income |
1.37B |
112.77% |
166.80% |
| EPS |
1.02 |
104.00% |
161.54% |
Key Financial Ratios
operatingProfitMargin
8.19%
dividendPayoutRatio
12.4%
Management Commentary
Transcript not provided in the supplied data. No verbatim management quotes are available from the QQ4 2024 earnings call within the provided text. Key takeaways inferred from the results point to continued emphasis on data-center solutions, Aruba networking, and consumption-based models (e.g., HPE GreenLake), with a focus on maintaining a strong balance sheet and robust cash generation to support strategic investments and shareholder returns.
Forward Guidance
No explicit forward guidance furnished in the provided materials. Given the QQ4 2024 results, investors should monitor: (1) the pace of data-center refresh cycles and server demand, (2) adoption and monetization of HPE GreenLake and other as-a-service offerings, (3) currency and macroeconomic headwinds that could affect enterprise IT budgets, and (4) competitive dynamics in servers, storage, and networking. Management-friendly indicators to watch include quarterly growth in Data Center Solutions revenue, GreenLake active customer adds, and progression of free cash flow driving deleveraging or disciplined buybacks. Achievability will hinge on continued discipline in operating expenses, price competitiveness, and the efficiency of capital allocation.