HPE to Post Q1 Earnings: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE is scheduled to report first-quarter fiscal 2026 results after market close on March 9, 2026.

HPE anticipates revenues to be in the range of $9.0-$9.4 billion for first-quarter fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $9.32 billion, suggesting growth of approximately 18.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

For the fiscal first quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of 57-61 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HPE’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 59 cents per share, reflecting a 20.4% increase year over year. The consensus mark for earnings has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.

In the trailing four quarters, HPE’s earnings surpassed the consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on one occasion, with an average surprise of 4.3%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Price and EPS Surprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company price-eps-surprise | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Quote

Factors to Influence HPE’s Q1 Results

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s fiscal first-quarter performance is expected to have been supported by rising demand in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and improving networking market conditions. HPE’s AI-driven networking portfolio is likely to have contributed to the growth of its Intelligent Edge services across campus and branch segments. Growth in Intelligent Edge is likely to have been driven by recovery in the networking market, Wi-Fi 7 adoption and enhancements in Aruba Networking Central.

The increasing adoption of the Aruba Edge Services Platform and HPE GreenLake is expected to have driven Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s revenues in the to-be-reported quarter. GreenLake momentum is expected to remain strong during the reported quarter, driven by subscription growth and an expanding customer base, which reached about 46,000 customers by the end of fiscal 2025. The HPE GreenLake solution is likely to have benefited from the company’s effort to simplify its cloud strategy by including all related products in the hybrid cloud segment. This initiative is expected to have simplified the customer adoption of the solution and added to the top line.

The increasing adoption of the Aruba Edge Services Platform and HPE GreenLake is expected to have driven Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s revenues in the to-be-reported quarter. Rising traction in HPE Cray EX, Cray XT, HPE ProLiant Gen11 AI-optimized servers and Gen12 servers is likely to have supported HPE’s top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

However, HPE’s AI systems revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 are likely to remain uneven due to the lumpy nature of large sovereign AI deals. The company expects AI server revenues to decline sequentially as several large AI projects are expected to ship later in fiscal 2026.

HPE continues to navigate a complex macro environment, including tariffs, trade policy changes and geopolitical uncertainty, which is likely to have negatively impacted overall financial performance in the fiscal first quarter. Enterprises are postponing their large IT spending plans due to a weakening global economy amid ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, which is expected to have hurt the company’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

Earnings Whispers for HPE Stock

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for HPE this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

HPE has an Earnings ESP of +0.85% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Micron Technology MU is set to report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on March 18. The stock has an Earnings ESP of +5.06% and presently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Micron Technology’s second-quarter earnings has inched upwards by 10 cents to $8.50 per share over the past 30 days. The consensus estimate for Micron Technology’s EPS for the fiscal second quarter implies a year-over-year increase of 444.9%.

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. GETY is slated to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on March 16.  The stock has an Earnings ESP of +66.67% and presently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 3 cents per share, unchanged over the past 60 days. Estimates for Getty Images’ EPS for the fourth quarter indicate a year-over-year increase of 400%.

Oracle ORCL is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on March 10. The stock has an Earnings ESP of +1.13% and presently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Oracle’s third-quarter earnings has remained unchanged at $1.70 per share over the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for Oracle’s EPS for the third quarter implies a year-over-year increase of 15.7%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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