HPQ vs HPE: HP Inc vs HP Enterprise Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HP Inc. is a PC and printing hardware company with reliable FCF from printing supplies, while HP Enterprise is a hybrid cloud and AI server infrastructure company transitioning to GreenLake as-a-service. Both are legacy IT hardware companies with different growth profiles: HP Inc. has more stable FCF; HP Enterprise has AI server growth but more competitive exposure.
HPQ vs HPE is printing supplies FCF machine with PC refresh upside versus AI server and hybrid cloud infrastructure growth — HP Inc. wins if AI PC features drive commercial refresh cycles; HP Enterprise wins if GreenLake ARR compounds and AI server demand sustains through enterprise GenAI buildout.
HPE holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. HPE has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+127.99% vs -2.56%), though HPQ has the better forward P/E setup (8.05x vs 12.14x for HPE). HPE leads on both revenue growth (40.00%) and operating margin (8.70%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for HPE (+32.12%) than for HPQ (-5.40%).
- →value HP Inc.'s printing supplies recurring revenue as a reliable FCF driver
- →want commercial PC exposure to the AI PC refresh cycle without cloud or server execution risk
- →prefer a dividend-paying IT hardware business with capital return through buybacks
- →are comfortable with secular print volume decline managed through supplies pricing and commercial focus
- →want AI server and hybrid cloud infrastructure exposure through ProLiant AI servers and GreenLake
- →value GreenLake's as-a-service model as a recurring revenue pivot from traditional server hardware cycles
- →prefer Aruba networking as a high-margin enterprise connectivity growth segment
- →believe enterprise AI infrastructure buildout sustains HPE's AI server revenue through GenAI adoption
| Metric | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 39.4 | 61.6 |
| AI rank | #1240 | #182 |
| Latest close | $24.77 | $47.24 |
| 1M return | -1.86% | -1.93% |
| 6M return | +15.37% | +113.08% |
| 1Y return | -2.56% | +127.99% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.98K (-0.2%) started 2025-07-14 | $22.85K (+128.5%) started 2025-07-14 |
| 5Y ago | $11.19K (+11.9%) started 2021-07-14 | $42.54K (+325.4%) started 2021-07-14 |
| 10Y ago | $32.52K (+225.2%) started 2016-07-14 | $69.35K (+593.5%) started 2016-07-14 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $22.15B | $64.28B |
| Trailing P/E | 8.97 | 45.36 |
| Forward P/E | 8.05 | 12.14 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 0.51 | 2.07 |
| Analyst target | $22.91 | $64.13 |
| Target upside | -5.40% | +32.12% |
| Metric | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 9.00% | 40.00% |
| Earnings growth | 16.20% | -30.30% |
| EPS growth | +16.20% | -30.30% |
| FCF margin | +6.01% | +9.89% |
| Operating margin | 7.11% | 8.70% |
| Profit margin | 4.45% | 4.01% |
| ROIC proxy | N/A | 6.31% |
| Return on equity | N/A | 6.31% |
| Dividend yield | 4.97% | 1.17% |
| Beta | 1.21 | 1.44 |
| Debt/equity | N/A | 84.03 |
| Current ratio | 0.79 | 1.09 |
| Quick ratio | 0.44 | 0.57 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -0.24% | +128.54% |
| CAGR | -0.24% | +129.34% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.08 | 1.82 | |
| Max drawdown | 37.99% | 26.57% | |
| Max daily drop | 6.99% | 10.14% | |
| Max wkly drop | 13.50% | 17.52% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -1.93% | +277.68% |
| CAGR | -0.39% | +30.46% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.04 | 0.76 | |
| Max drawdown | 52.83% | 48.36% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.71% | 15.14% | |
| Max wkly drop | 21.27% | 20.76% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +136.84% | +422.53% |
| CAGR | +9.01% | +17.99% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.29 | 0.51 | |
| Max drawdown | 52.83% | 56.87% | |
| Max daily drop | 17.27% | 15.31% | |
| Max wkly drop | 32.28% | 28.21% |
| Category | HPQ | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | HP Inc. | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | PC and printing hardware company. HP Inc. sells consumer and commercial PCs, workstations, printers, and printing supplies. HP Inc. was formed when Hewlett-Packard split in 2015, retaining the original PC and printing businesses. | Hybrid cloud and AI infrastructure company with compute (ProLiant servers), hybrid cloud software (GreenLake), networking (Aruba), high-performance computing, and AI servers (ProLiant for AI). HPE competes with Dell, Supermicro, and Lenovo in enterprise IT infrastructure. |
| Investor focus | PC market cycle recovery, commercial PC refresh driven by AI PC features, print hardware and supplies revenue, and free cash flow generation. | GreenLake as-a-service ARR growth, AI server demand (Nvidia GPU servers), Aruba networking, and operating margin improvement. |
- →HP Inc. generates significant free cash flow from its printing supplies (ink, toner) consumable business — a reliable recurring revenue stream
- →Commercial PC refresh cycle from AI PC features (NPU-equipped Windows 11 PCs) provides incremental upgrade demand
- →HP maintains strong market share in commercial printing with a loyal corporate customer base
- →GreenLake is HPE's as-a-service hybrid cloud platform — providing subscription revenue that makes HPE's model less cyclical than traditional server sales
- →AI server demand is accelerating as enterprises and cloud providers invest in GPU compute infrastructure
- →Aruba networking is a growing high-margin business in enterprise WiFi and campus networking
- →PC market is in structural slow growth — refresh cycles have lengthened and the consumer PC market has matured significantly
- →Printer page volume is declining as paperless digital workflows reduce enterprise printing demand
- →Competition from Lenovo, Dell, and Apple in the commercial PC market creates pricing pressure
- →AI server competition from Dell, Supermicro, and ODM manufacturers is intense — margins on GPU servers can be thin
- →GreenLake growth requires customers to commit to multi-year as-a-service agreements which can be slow to close
- →Traditional server hardware market is highly competitive and commoditizing as cloud displaces on-premise compute
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