Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE)
SIC breadcrumb: Manufacturing > Industrial And Commercial Machinery And Computer Equipment > SIC 3570 Computer & office Equipment
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1645590. Latest filing source: 0001645590-25-000130.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 34,296,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-12-18 |
| Net income | 57,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-12-18 |
| Assets | 75,906,000,000 | USD | 2025 | 2025-12-18 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2025-12-18. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001645590.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 30,280,000,000 | 28,871,000,000 | 30,852,000,000 | 29,135,000,000 | 26,982,000,000 | 27,784,000,000 | 28,496,000,000 | 29,135,000,000 | 30,127,000,000 | 34,296,000,000 |
| Net income | 3,161,000,000 | 344,000,000 | 1,908,000,000 | 1,049,000,000 | -322,000,000 | 3,427,000,000 | 868,000,000 | 2,025,000,000 | 2,579,000,000 | 57,000,000 |
| Operating income | 3,903,000,000 | 564,000,000 | 1,737,000,000 | 1,274,000,000 | -329,000,000 | 1,132,000,000 | 782,000,000 | 2,089,000,000 | 2,190,000,000 | -437,000,000 |
| Diluted EPS | 1.82 | 0.21 | 1.23 | 0.77 | -0.25 | 2.58 | 0.66 | 1.54 | 1.93 | -0.04 |
| Operating cash flow | 5,056,000,000 | 1,335,000,000 | 2,964,000,000 | 3,997,000,000 | 2,240,000,000 | 5,871,000,000 | 4,593,000,000 | 4,428,000,000 | 4,341,000,000 | 2,919,000,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 3,280,000,000 | 3,137,000,000 | 2,956,000,000 | 2,856,000,000 | 2,383,000,000 | 2,502,000,000 | 3,122,000,000 | 2,828,000,000 | 2,367,000,000 | 2,292,000,000 |
| Dividends paid | 373,000,000 | 428,000,000 | 570,000,000 | 608,000,000 | 618,000,000 | 625,000,000 | 621,000,000 | 619,000,000 | 676,000,000 | 684,000,000 |
| Share buybacks | 2,662,000,000 | 2,556,000,000 | 3,568,000,000 | 2,249,000,000 | 355,000,000 | 213,000,000 | 512,000,000 | 421,000,000 | 150,000,000 | 202,000,000 |
| Assets | 79,629,000,000 | 61,406,000,000 | 20,469,000,000 | 51,803,000,000 | 54,015,000,000 | 57,699,000,000 | 57,123,000,000 | 57,153,000,000 | 71,262,000,000 | 75,906,000,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 31,448,000,000 | 23,466,000,000 | -5,775,000,000 | 17,098,000,000 | 16,049,000,000 | 19,971,000,000 | 19,864,000,000 | 21,182,000,000 | 24,816,000,000 | 24,688,000,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 12,987,000,000 | 9,579,000,000 | 4,880,000,000 | 3,753,000,000 | 4,233,000,000 | 3,996,000,000 | 4,163,000,000 | 4,270,000,000 | 14,846,000,000 | 5,773,000,000 |
| Free cash flow | 1,776,000,000 | -1,802,000,000 | 8,000,000 | 1,141,000,000 | -143,000,000 | 3,369,000,000 | 1,471,000,000 | 1,600,000,000 | 1,974,000,000 | 627,000,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 10.44% | 1.19% | 6.18% | 3.60% | -1.19% | 12.33% | 3.05% | 6.95% | 8.56% | 0.17% |
| Operating margin | 12.89% | 1.95% | 5.63% | 4.37% | -1.22% | 4.07% | 2.74% | 7.17% | 7.27% | -1.27% |
| Return on equity | 10.05% | 1.47% | 6.14% | -2.01% | 17.16% | 4.37% | 9.56% | 10.39% | 0.23% | |
| Return on assets | 3.97% | 0.56% | 9.32% | 2.02% | -0.60% | 5.94% | 1.52% | 3.54% | 3.62% | 0.08% |
| Current ratio | 1.28 | 1.13 | 1.00 | 0.79 | 0.88 | 0.91 | 0.88 | 0.87 | 1.29 | 1.01 |
Financial Charts
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-06-02. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001645590.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-07-31 | 0.31 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-01-31 | 0.38 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-04-30 | 0.32 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-07-31 | 7,002,000,000 | 464,000,000 | 0.35 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-10-31 | 7,351,000,000 | 642,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-01-31 | 6,755,000,000 | 387,000,000 | 0.29 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-04-30 | 7,204,000,000 | 314,000,000 | 0.24 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-07-31 | 7,710,000,000 | 512,000,000 | 0.38 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-10-31 | 8,458,000,000 | 1,366,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-01-31 | 7,854,000,000 | 627,000,000 | 0.44 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-04-30 | 7,627,000,000 | -1,050,000,000 | -0.82 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-07-31 | 9,136,000,000 | 305,000,000 | 0.21 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-10-31 | 9,679,000,000 | 175,000,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-01-31 | 9,301,000,000 | 452,000,000 | 0.31 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2026-04-30 | 10,678,000,000 | 624,000,000 | 0.44 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001645590-26-000055.
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) section, we use the terms “HPE”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, changes in certain key items in these financial statements from period-to-period and the primary factors that accounted for these changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies, and estimates affect our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.
The financial discussion and analysis in the following MD&A compares the three and six months ended April 30, 2026 to the comparable prior-year period and where appropriate, as of April 30, 2026, unless otherwise noted.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management, such as the mixed macroeconomic environment and heightening global trade restrictions, uneven demand across our portfolio, increased demand for and adoption of new technologies, supply chain constraints and related cost increases for certain components, increased inventory levels, conservative customer spending environment (though recovering), persistent inflation, foreign exchange pressures, recent tax developments, and competitive pricing pressures.
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and a summary of our financial performance and other highlights, including Generally accepted accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis of changes in our cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, and cash requirements and commitments.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations. Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. This section also includes a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
During the first six months of fiscal 2026, the effects of the evolving macroeconomic environment on demand for information technology products and supply for components persisted and certain significant developments impacted our operations, as follows:
Technological Advancements: We have observed market trends and demand (of customers of various segments and sizes) gravitating towards AI, hybrid cloud, edge computing, data security capabilities, and related offerings. The volume of data at the edge continues to grow, driven by the proliferation of devices. As a result, the need for a unified cloud experience everywhere has grown, in order to manage the growth of data at the edge. Increasing demand for AI is also contributing to changes in the competitive landscape. With the abundance of data, there are opportunities to develop AI tools with powerful computational abilities to extract insights and value from the captured data. Secure networking that is purpose-built for AI workloads is the foundation that enables users to seamlessly connect and apply AI learnings to such data that lives in various ecosystems. While we believe our recent acquisition of Juniper Networks Inc. (“Juniper Networks”) positions us to capitalize on the growing market opportunities across AI-accelerated computing, data, cloud and networking, our major competitors and emerging competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions and exerting increased competitive pressure. We expect these market dynamics and trends to continue in the longer term.
Macroeconomic Uncertainty: The evolving macroeconomic environment has impacted industry-wide demand, as customers have been taking longer to work through prior orders and continue to adopt a more strategic approach to discretionary IT spending. While this dynamic has been easing, it has resulted in uneven demand across our portfolio and geographies, particularly for certain of our hardware offerings, as customers have focused investments on modernizing infrastructure, such as migrating to cloud-based offerings. Additionally, there continues to be significant uncertainty surrounding the tariff environment and import/export regulations due to numerous factors, including but not limited to tariff imposition delays, changes to tariff rates and policies, and enactment of reciprocally restrictive trade policies and measures around the world. These have enhanced global trade uncertainty and contributed to higher prices of components and end products and services. While we have sought to mitigate these adverse impacts by relying on our global supply chain and implementing pricing measures, we expect the current macroeconomic environment to continue with the potential to impact revenue and margin growth in the near term.
Supply Chain: We experienced supply chain constraints for certain components, including graphics processing units (“GPUs”), accelerated processing units, solid-state drives (“SSDs”), and other memory components. We are affected by the worldwide shortage in memory components that began to impact the semiconductor industry in the first half of fiscal year 2026 primarily due to the accelerating growth in AI usage and the related rapid expansion in AI data centers and compute refresh cycles. In the first half of fiscal year 2026, we experienced supply chain constraints due to these component shortages and expect such dynamics to continue in the medium term as memory supply constraints may continue until memory vendors transition greater production allocations towards high performance memory components required by AI. The future remains uncertain due to the macroeconomic environment and dynamics discussed above, which have thus far impacted our ability to import and export components and finished products and increased our costs. Additionally, logistics costs have been, and may continue to remain, high due to changes in trade policies and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and tensions. We have experienced higher-than-normal inventory levels, primarily due to frequent component part updates, customers transitioning to the next generation of GPUs, our efforts to secure supply ahead of demand, and longer customer acceptance timelines on AI-related orders. In addition, our current efforts to secure memory components and SSDs to meet forecasted demand may further increase our inventory levels in the medium term. While we have been working to reduce inventory, any or all of the aforementioned factors could contribute to sustained higher-than-normal levels and further uncertainty. We have experienced, and expect to continue experiencing, rising input component costs due to various factors, including but not limited to global trade uncertainties and the competitive pricing environment, all of which may impact our financial results. We are taking actions through continued disciplined cost pricing management and supply chain diversification to mitigate the impact of these dynamics. However, such actions may not fully mitigate any impact on our financial condition.
Recurring Revenue and Consumption Models: We continue to strengthen our core server and storage-oriented offerings and expand our offerings on the HPE GreenLake cloud, to deliver our entire portfolio as-a-service (“aaS”) and become the edge-to-cloud company of choice for our customers and partners. We expect that such flexible consumption model will continue to strengthen our customer relationships and contribute to growth in recurring revenue.
Foreign Currency Exposure: We have a large global presence, with more than half of our revenue generated outside of the U.S. As a result, our financial results can be, and particularly in recent periods have been, impacted by fluctuations in
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
foreign currency exchange rates. We utilize a comprehensive hedging strategy intended to mitigate the impact of foreign currency volatility over time, and we adjust pricing when possible to further minimize foreign currency impacts.
Public Sector: We have a number of engagements with various public sector entities, including the U.S. federal government and its agencies, as direct or indirect customers of our IT services and hardware. Significant staffing and resource reductions at certain public sector entities create an uncertain environment and as a result, our financial results have been, and may continue to be, impacted in the near term.
Recent Tax Developments: Proposals to reform U.S. and foreign tax laws could significantly impact how U.S. multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings. Several of the proposals currently being considered, if enacted into law, could have an impact on our effective tax rate, income tax expense, and cash flows. Our future effective tax rate may also be impacted by judicial decisions, changes in interpretation of regulations, as well as additional legislation and guidance. Further, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), an international association of 38 countries including the United States, has proposed changes to numerous long-standing tax principles, namely, its Pillar Two framework, which imposes a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. To date, approximately 65 countries have enacted portions, or all, of the OECD proposal. The adoption and effective dates of these rules may vary by country and could increase tax complexity and uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes. While we do not anticipate a material adverse impact to our financial position in fiscal 2026, additional changes to global tax laws are likely to occur. For instance, some countries have enacted, and others have proposed, taxes based on gross receipts applicable to digital services, regardless of profitability. Such changes may adversely affect our tax liability. In addition, the United States has considered, and may adopt, reciprocal tax measures in response to such regimes. These developments could increase our global tax burden, result in double taxation, and adversely affect our tax liability.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is conducting audits of our fiscal 2020 through 2022 U.S. federal income tax returns. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the IRS issued notices of proposed adjustments (“NOPAs”) for fiscal 2020, 2021, and 2022 relating to our intercompany transfer pricing. During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, we submitted a formal settlement offer to the IRS to facilitate the closing of th
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) section, we use the terms “Hewlett Packard Enterprise,” “HPE,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.
This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. Discussions of fiscal 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year October 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC on December 19, 2024, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Consolidated Financial Statements, changes in certain key items in these financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for these changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management, such as the mixed macroeconomic environment and heightening global trade restrictions, uneven demand across our portfolio, increased demand for and adoption of new technologies, increased inventory levels, conservative customer spending environment (though recovering), persistent inflation, foreign exchange pressures, recent tax developments, and competitive pricing pressures.
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and a summary of our financial performance and other highlights, including non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis of changes in our cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, and cash requirements and commitments.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations. Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. This section also includes a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
During fiscal 2025, the effects of the evolving macroeconomic environment on demand persisted and certain significant developments impacted our operations as follows:
Technological Advancements: We have observed market trends and demand (of customers of various segments and sizes) gravitating towards AI, hybrid cloud, edge computing, data security capabilities, and related offerings. The volume of data at the edge continues to grow, driven by the proliferation of more devices. The need for a unified cloud experience everywhere has grown, as well, in order to manage the growth of data at the edge. Increasing demand for AI is also contributing to changes in the competitive landscape. With the abundance of data, there are opportunities to develop AI tools with powerful computational abilities to extract insights and value from the captured data. Secure networking that is purpose-built for AI workloads is the foundation that enables users to seamlessly connect and apply AI learnings to such data that lives in various ecosystems. While we believe our recent acquisition of Juniper Networks positions us to capitalize on the growing market opportunities across AI-accelerated computing, data, cloud and networking, our major competitors and emerging competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions and exerting increased competitive pressure. We expect these market dynamics and trends to continue in the longer term.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Macroeconomic Uncertainty: The evolving macroeconomic environment has impacted industry-wide demand, as customers have been taking longer to work through prior orders and, to this day, have been adopting a more strategic approach to discretionary IT spending. While this dynamic has been easing, this has resulted in uneven demand across our portfolio and geographies, particularly for certain of our hardware offerings, as customers have focused investments on modernizing infrastructure, such as migrating to cloud-based offerings, including our own. Additionally, there continues to be significant uncertainty surrounding the tariff environment and import/export regulations due to numerous factors, including but not limited to tariff imposition delays, changes to tariff rates and policies, and enactment of reciprocally restrictive trade policies and measures around the world. These have enhanced global trade uncertainty and contributed to higher prices of components and end products and services. While we have sought to mitigate these adverse impacts by relying on our global supply chain and implementing pricing measures, we expect such a mixed macroeconomic environment to largely continue and possibly limit revenue and margin growth in the near term.
Supply Chain: We experienced supply chain constraints for certain components, including graphics processing units (“GPUs”) and accelerated processing units. Though they have eased at times during the fiscal year, we are once again experiencing such constraints and expect such dynamics to continue in the medium term. The future remains uncertain due to the macroeconomic dynamics discussed above, which have thus far impacted our ability to import and export components and finished products and the costs of doing so. Additionally, logistics costs have been, and may continue to remain, high with such changes in trade policies. We have been experiencing higher-than-normal inventory levels, primarily due to frequent component part updates, customers transitioning to the next generation of GPUs, our securing supply ahead of demand, and longer customer acceptance timelines on AI-related orders. While we have been working to reduce inventory, any or all of the aforementioned factors could contribute to sustained higher-than-normal levels and further uncertainty. We have experienced, and expect to continue experiencing, rising input component costs due to various factors, including but not limited to the global trade uncertainties referenced above and a competitive pricing environment, all of which may impact our financial results. We plan to mitigate the impact of these dynamics through continued disciplined cost and pricing management and supply chain diversification; however, such actions may not be successful.
Recurring Revenue and Consumption Models: We continue to strengthen our core server and storage-oriented offerings and expand our offerings on the HPE GreenLake cloud, to deliver our entire portfolio as-a-service (“aaS”) and become the edge-to-cloud company for our customers and partners. We expect that such flexible consumption model will continue to strengthen our customer relationships and contribute to growth in recurring revenue.
Foreign Currency Exposure: We have a large global presence, with more than half of our revenue generated outside of the U.S. As a result, our financial results can be, and particularly in recent periods have been, impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We utilize a comprehensive hedging strategy intended to mitigate the impact of foreign currency volatility over time, and we adjust pricing when possible to further minimize foreign currency impacts.
Public Sector: We have a number of engagements with various public sector entities, including the U.S. federal government and its agencies, as direct or indirect customers of our IT services and hardware. Significant staffing and resource reductions at certain public sector entities create an uncertain environment and as a result, our financial results have been, and may continue to be, impacted in the near term.
Recent Tax Developments: Proposals to reform U.S. and foreign tax laws could significantly impact how U.S. multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings and could increase the U.S. corporate tax rate. Several of the proposals currently being considered, if enacted into law, could have an adverse impact on our effective tax rate, income tax expense, and cash flows. Our future effective tax rate may also be impacted by judicial decisions, changes in interpretation of regulations, as well as additional legislation and guidance. Further, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), an international association of 38 countries including the United States, has proposed changes to numerous long-standing tax principles, namely, its Pillar Two framework, which imposes a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. To date, 60 countries have enacted portions, or all, of the OECD proposal. Where enacted, the rules are effective for us in fiscal 2025. The adoption and effective dates of these rules may vary by country and could increase tax complexity and uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes. There was not a material impact to our fiscal 2025 results from Pillar Two legislation. While we do not anticipate a material adverse impact to our financial position in fiscal 2026, additional changes to global tax laws are likely to occur. For instance, some countries have enacted, and others have proposed, taxes based on gross receipts applicable to digital services, regardless of profitability. Such changes may adversely affect our tax liability.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is conducting audits of our fiscal 2020 through 2022 U.S. federal income tax returns. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the IRS issued a Revenue Agent Report (“RAR”) regarding the audit of our fiscal
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
2017 through 2019 U.S. federal income tax returns, with which we agreed. The audit cycle for fiscal 2017 through 2019 is now considered effectively settled, resulting in a reduction of existing unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $340 million, which did not result in a material impact to our Consolidated Statement of Earnings and our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The resolution of the audit resulted in the release of tax reserves that were predominantly related either to adjustments to foreign tax credits that carried a full valuation allowance or to the timing of intercompany royalty revenue recognition, neither of which affected our effective tax rate.
On July 4, 2025, the U.S. government enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OB3”) into law. OB3 introduces several changes to tax regulations, including the permanent restoration of 100% depreciation and the permanent restoration of immediate deductibility of costs associated with research and development activities performed in the United States. There was not a material impact of OB3 to our fiscal 2025 results, and we do not expect a material impact in fiscal 2026, but we will continue to evaluate the full impact of these changes on our future results.
Other Trends and Uncertainties: The impacts of geopolitical volatility (including the continued instability in the Middle East, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the relationship between China and the U.S.) may impact our operations, financial performance, and ability to conduct business in some non-U.S. markets. We have, in the past, entered into contracts for the sale of certain products and services that reflect heavier-than-normal discounting due to competitive pressures, which have resulted in lower margins than expected, and we expect will continue to negatively impact our margins in the near term. We have been monitoring and seeking to mitigate these risks with adjustments to our manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution networks, as well as our pricing and discounting practices. We remain focused on executing our key strategic priorities, building long-term value creation for our stakeholders, and addressing our customers’ needs while continuing to make prudent decisions in response to the environment.
The following “Executive Overview,” “Results of Operations,” and “Liquidity” discussions and analysis compare fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2024, unless otherwise noted. The “Capital Resources” and “Cash Requirements and Commitments” sections present information as of October 31, 2025, unless otherwise noted.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Acquisition of Juniper Networks
On July 2, 2025, we completed the Juniper Networks merger (the “Merger”). Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated January 9, 2024, by and among Juniper Networks, HPE and Jasmine Acquisition Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of HPE (the “Merger Agreement”), HPE agreed to pay $40.00 per share of Juniper Networks common stock, issued and outstanding as of July 2, 2025, representing cash consideration of approximately $13.4 billion. The results of operations of Juniper Networks are included in the Consolidated Financial Statements commencing on July 2, 2025. See Note 10, “Acquisitions and Dispositions,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
Pending Divestiture of H3C Technologies Co., Limited Shares
On November 17, 2025, our subsidiary, H3C Holdings Limited (“H3C Holdings”), entered into (i) share purchase agreements with five counterparties, including Unisplendour International Technology Limited (“UNIS”), whereby such counterparties, in the aggregate, agreed to purchase 10% of the total issued share capital of H3C Technologies Co., Limited (“H3C”) for cash consideration of approximately $714 million and (ii) a side letter with UNIS, amending the Agreement on Subsequent Arrangements that was previously entered into on May 24, 2024, whereby, among other things, H3C Holdings and UNIS shall retain their put option and call option, respectively, relating to the remaining issued share capital of H3C held by H3C Holdings and have the right to exercise their respective option rights in respect of such shares up to three times, subject to the timing and terms as set forth therein. The agreement referenced in clause (ii) above revises the arrangements governing the sale of all of the remaining issued share capital of H3C held by us through H3C Holdings. On November 28, 2025, H3C Holdings entered into three additional share purchase agreements, including one with UNIS, whereby such counterparties, in the aggregate, agreed to purchase the remaining 9% of the total issued share capital of H3C for cash consideration of approximately $643 million. Such transactions and the transactions referenced in clause (i) remain subject to regulatory approvals.
Cost Savings Actions
On March 6, 2025, the Board of Directors approved a cost reduction program (the "Program") intended to reduce structural operating costs and continue advancing our ongoing commitment to profitable growth. The Program is expected to be
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
implemented through fiscal year 2026 and deliver gross savings of approximately $350 million by fiscal year 2027 through reductions in our workforce. The Program has since become a part of Catalyst, a set of broader company-wide actions to reduce costs and enhance efficiency throughout the Company.
The estimates of the duration of the Program, the charges and expenditures that we expect to incur in connection therewith, and the timing thereof are subject to a number of assumptions, including local law requirements in various jurisdictions, and actual amounts may differ materially from estimates. In addition, we may incur other charges or cash expenditures not currently contemplated due to unanticipated events that may occur, including in connection with the implementation of the Program. In connection with the Program, we incurred charges of $275 million in fiscal 2025.
In addition, the Company expects to achieve at least $600 million in cost savings from synergies by fiscal 2028, related to the integration of Juniper Networks. These synergies will require approximately $800 million of investment, primarily tied to headcount, supply chain optimization, and portfolio rationalization.
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Net revenue of $34.3 billion represented an increase of 13.8%, primarily due to higher revenue in the Networking segment from the Merger and higher average unit prices (“AUPs”) in the Server segment. The gross profit margin of 30.3% (or $10.4 billion) represents a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the prior-year period, primarily due to an increase in cost of sales in the Server, Networking, and Hybrid Cloud segments. The operating profit margin of (1.3)%, represents a decrease of 8.6 percentage points from the prior-year period, primarily due to the impairment of goodwill and costs associated with the Merger.
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 34,296 | $ | 30,127 | 13.8% | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 10,377 | $ | 9,878 | 5.1% | ||||
| Gross profit margin | 30.3 | % | 32.8 | % | (2.5)pts | ||||
| (Loss) earnings from operations | $ | (437) | $ | 2,190 | (120.0)% | ||||
| Operating profit margin | (1.3) | % | 7.3 | % | (8.6)pts | ||||
| Net earnings attributable to HPE | $ | 57 | $ | 2,579 | (97.8)% | ||||
| Net (loss) earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | (59) | $ | 2,554 | (102.3)% | ||||
| Diluted net (loss) earnings per share attributable to common stockholders(1) | $ | (0.04) | $ | 1.93 | $(1.97) | ||||
| Cash flow provided by operations | $ | 2,919 | $ | 4,341 | $(1,422) |
The following table summarizes our consolidated non-GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 10,805 | $ | 9,893 | 9.2% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit margin | 31.5 | % | 32.8 | % | (1.3)pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,353 | $ | 3,168 | 5.8% | ||||
| Non-GAAP operating profit margin | 9.8 | % | 10.5 | % | (0.7)pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE | $ | 2,753 | $ | 2,655 | 3.7% | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | 2,637 | $ | 2,630 | 0.3% | ||||
| Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders(1) | $ | 1.94 | $ | 1.99 | $(0.05) | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 986 | $ | 2,297 | $(1,311) |
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(1)For purposes of calculating diluted net earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”), the 7.625% Series C mandatory convertible preferred stock (“Preferred Stock”) dividends are added back to the net earnings (loss) attributable to common stockholders and the diluted weighted-average share calculation assumes the Preferred Stock was converted at issuance or as of the beginning of the reporting period. For GAAP diluted net EPS, the effect of employee stock plans and Preferred Stock is excluded when calculating diluted net loss per share as it would be anti-dilutive.
Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure herein. Please refer to the section “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A for these reconciliations, a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
Annualized Revenue Run-rate (“ARR”)
ARR represents the annualized revenue of all net HPE GreenLake cloud services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income from operating leases and interest income from finance leases), and software-as-a-service, software consumption revenue, and other aaS offerings, by taking such revenue recognized during a quarter and multiplying by four. To better align the calculation of ARR with Juniper Networks’ business and offerings, beginning with the quarter ended July 31, 2025, we also included revenue from software licenses support and maintenance in our ARR calculation, and will continue to do so going forward. The impact of this change was not material to the current and prior periods presented. We believe that ARR is a metric that allows management to better understand and highlight the potential future performance of our aaS business. We also believe ARR provides investors with greater transparency to our financial information and of the performance metric used in our financial and operational decision making and allows investors to see our results “through the eyes of management.” We use ARR as a performance metric. ARR should be viewed independently of net revenue and is not intended to be combined with it.
ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.
The following table presents our ARR:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| ARR | $ | 3,151 | $ | 1,938 | ||
| Year-over-year growth rate | 63 | % | 49 | % |
The 63% year over year increase in ARR was primarily due to growth in the Networking segment due to the Merger and an expanding customer installed base. The ARR attributed to the Hybrid Cloud and Server segments increased due to an expanded range of HPE GreenLake Flex Solutions and increased Server aaS activity.
Capital Returns to Stockholders
Returning capital to our stockholders remains an important part of our capital allocation framework, which also consists of strategic investments. We believe our existing balance of cash and cash equivalents, along with commercial paper and other short-term liquidity arrangements, are sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital asset purchases, dividends, debt repayments, and other liquidity requirements associated with our existing operations. As of October 31, 2025, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $5.9 billion, compared to $15.1 billion as of October 31, 2024, representing a decrease of $9.2 billion.
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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), which requires us to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. A summary of significant accounting policies and a summary of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Note 1, “Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II. An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if the nature of the estimate or assumption it incorporates is subject to material level of judgment related to matters that are highly uncertain and changes in those estimates and assumptions are reasonably likely to materially impact our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.
We believe the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into contracts with customers that may include combinations of products and services, resulting in arrangements containing multiple performance obligations for hardware and software products and/or various services.
The majority of our revenue is derived from sales of products and services and the associated support and maintenance, and such revenue is recognized when, or as, control of promised products or services is transferred to the customer at the transaction price. Transaction price is adjusted for variable consideration, including rebates, which may be offered in contracts with customers, partners, and distributors.
Significant judgment is applied in determining the transaction price as we may be required to estimate variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition. When determining the amount of revenue to recognize, we estimate the expected usage of these programs, applying the expected value or most likely estimate and update the estimate at each reporting period as actual utilization becomes available. Variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur. We also consider the customers' right of return in determining the transaction price, where applicable.
To recognize revenue for the products and services for which control has been transferred, we allocate the transaction price for the contract among the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price (“SSP”) basis. For products and services sold as a bundle, the SSP is generally not directly observable and requires the Company to estimate SSP based on management judgment by considering available data such as internal margin objectives, pricing strategies, market/competitive conditions, historical profitability data, as well as other observable inputs. For certain products and services, the Company establishes SSP based on the observable price when sold separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. The Company establishes SSP ranges for its products and services and reassesses them periodically.
Business Combinations
We account for acquired businesses using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires that once control is obtained, all the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their respective fair values at the date of acquisition. The determination of fair values of identifiable assets and liabilities requires significant judgment in determining critical estimates and assumptions. Critical estimates in valuing intangible assets include the projected revenues, technology obsolescence rate, royalty rates, and discount rates for developed technology and IPR&D; the projected revenues, customer retention rate, forecasted growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortization, and discount rate for the customer contracts, customer lists and distribution agreements. Although the Company believes its estimates of fair value are reasonable, actual financial results could differ from those estimates due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making such estimates. Changes in assumptions concerning future financial results or other underlying assumptions could have a significant impact on the determination of the fair value of the intangible assets acquired. Third-party valuation specialists are utilized for certain estimates.
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Taxes on Earnings
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and approximately 75 other countries. Significant judgment is required in determining the consolidated provision for income taxes.
We record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that we are more likely than not to realize. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider future market growth, forecasted earnings, future sources of taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income, of the appropriate character, in the jurisdictions in which the deferred tax assets are located, prior to their expiration under applicable tax laws.
We are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. We believe that positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, which may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, our income tax provision includes amounts intended to satisfy assessments that may result from these challenges. Determining the income tax provision for these potential assessments and recording the related effects requires management judgments and estimates. The amounts ultimately paid on resolution of an audit could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our Benefit (provision) for taxes, Net earnings and cash flows. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our international operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions and related interest, and uncertain tax positions from acquired companies. For further discussion on taxes on earnings, refer to Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Goodwill
We review goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. We are permitted to conduct a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test. We performed interim goodwill impairment tests as of November 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025 and our annual impairment test as of August 1, 2025.
As of October 31, 2025, our reporting units with goodwill are consistent with the reportable segments identified in Note 2, “Segment Information,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, with the exception of Networking and Corporate Investments and Other segments. The Networking segment contains two reporting units: Intelligent Edge and Juniper Networks. The Corporate Investments and Other segment contains the A & PS reporting unit.
When performing the goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount. An impairment exists if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount.
Estimating the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a weighting of fair values derived mostly from the income approach and, to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, the fair value of a reporting unit is based on discounted cash flow analysis of management's short-term and long-term forecast of operating performance. This analysis includes significant assumptions regarding revenue growth rates, expected operating margins, and timing of expected future cash flows based on market conditions and customer acceptances. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital of comparable public companies adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit's ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, the fair value is based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly traded companies with operating and investment characteristics similar to the reporting unit. We weight the fair value derived from the market approach commensurate with the level of comparability of these publicly traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using the income approach. In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
2025 Interim and Annual Goodwill Impairment Reviews
During fiscal 2025, we performed the following goodwill impairment tests, two of which resulted in goodwill impairment:
•Impairment test performed as of November 1, 2024 based on organizational changes impacting the composition of reporting units as of that date did not result in an impairment;
•Interim test performed as of April 30, 2025 due to indicators of potential impairment resulted in the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit being impaired; and
•Annual impairment test, which was performed as of August 1, 2025, resulted in the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit being impaired.
April 30, 2025 Interim Impairment Test
During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the macroeconomic environment experienced a rapid deterioration, primarily driven by the announcement and subsequent modifications of international tariffs, an escalation in global trade tensions, and increasing geopolitical uncertainty. These events contributed to significant movement in inputs used to determine the weighted-average cost of capital. As of April 30, 2025, we determined that an indicator of potential impairment existed to require an interim quantitative goodwill impairment test for its reporting units.
Based on the results of the interim quantitative impairment test performed as of April 30, 2025, the fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was below the carrying value assigned to Hybrid Cloud. The decline in the fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was primarily driven by an increase in the discount rate used in the discounted cash flows analysis, which reflected heightened macroeconomic uncertainty and changes in market conditions. The fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was based on a weighting of fair values derived most significantly from the income approach, and to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future cash flows which we consider to be a level 3 unobservable input in the fair value hierarchy.
Prior to the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we tested the recoverability of long-lived assets and other assets of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit and concluded that such assets were not impaired. The quantitative goodwill impairment test indicated that the carrying value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value by $1.4 billion. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $1.4 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
August 1, 2025 Annual Impairment Test
Based on the results of the annual quantitative impairment test performed as of August 1, 2025, the fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was below the carrying value assigned to Hybrid Cloud. The decline in the fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was primarily driven by a strategic shift away from the Non-IP storage business. The fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was based on a weighting of fair values derived most significantly from the income approach, and to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future cash flows which we consider to be a level 3 unobservable input in the fair value hierarchy.
Prior to the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we tested the recoverability of long-lived assets and other assets of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit and concluded that such assets were not impaired. The quantitative goodwill impairment test indicated that the carrying value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit exceeded its fair value by $0.2 billion. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $0.2 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
Subsequent to the impairment of Hybrid Cloud reporting unit, the indicated fair values of the reporting units exceeded their respective carrying amounts by a range of 0% to 240%. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the estimated fair value of our reporting units in the goodwill impairment test, we applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of each reporting unit. Based on the results of this hypothetical 10% decrease all of the reporting units had an excess of fair value over carrying amount, except Server and Hybrid Cloud.
The Hybrid Cloud reporting unit has remaining goodwill of $3.3 billion as of October 31, 2025 and an excess of fair value over carrying value of 0% as of the annual test date. Hybrid Cloud business is transitioning to a more cloud-native, software-defined platform with HPE Alletra. Translating this growth to revenue and operating income will take time because a greater mix of high margin business, such as ratable software and services, are deferred and recognized in future periods.
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The excess of fair value over carrying amount for the Server reporting unit was 11%. The Server reporting unit has a goodwill balance of $10.2 billion as of October 31, 2025. In the current macroeconomic and inflationary environment, customers have invested selectively, resulting in moderate unit growth and competitive pricing in the traditional servers business. While the AI servers business is growing at a faster pace, because graphics processing units represent a large portion of the solutions, the pricing is very competitive and margins are limited. The Server business continues to focus on capturing market share in both traditional and AI servers, while maintaining operating margin and leveraging its strong portfolio of products.
If the global macroeconomic or geopolitical conditions worsen, projected revenue growth rates or operating margins decline, weighted-average cost of capital increases, or if we have a significant or sustained decline in our stock price, it is possible the estimates for our Hybrid Cloud and Server reporting units’ ability to successfully address the current challenges may change, which could result in the carrying value of the Hybrid Cloud and Server reporting units exceeding their estimated fair value and potential impairment charges.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 34,296 | 100.0 | % | $ | 30,127 | 100.0 | % | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of sales (exclusive of amortization shown separately below) | 23,919 | 69.7 | 20,249 | 67.2 | 18,896 | 64.9 | ||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 10,377 | 30.3 | 9,878 | 32.8 | 10,239 | 35.1 | ||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 2,518 | 7.3 | 2,246 | 7.5 | 2,349 | 8.1 | ||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 5,704 | 16.6 | 4,871 | 16.2 | 5,160 | 17.7 | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 511 | 1.5 | 267 | 0.9 | 288 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Impairment charges | 1,621 | 4.7 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 2 | — | 93 | 0.3 | 283 | 1.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other charges | 458 | 1.3 | 211 | 0.7 | 70 | 0.2 | ||||||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings from operations | (437) | (1.3) | 2,190 | 7.3 | 2,089 | 7.2 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest and other, net | (175) | (0.5) | (117) | (0.4) | (104) | (0.4) | ||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of equity interest | — | — | 733 | 2.4 | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of a business | 248 | 0.7 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests | 79 | 0.2 | 147 | 0.5 | 245 | 0.8 | ||||||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings before provision for taxes | (285) | (0.9) | 2,953 | 9.8 | 2,230 | 7.6 | ||||||||||||||
| Benefit (provision) for taxes | 342 | 1.0 | (374) | (1.2) | (205) | (0.7) | ||||||||||||||
| Net earnings attributable to HPE | 57 | 0.2 | 2,579 | 8.6 | 2,025 | 7.0 | ||||||||||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | (116) | (0.3) | (25) | (0.1) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | (59) | (0.2) | % | $ | 2,554 | 8.5 | % | $ | 2,025 | 7.0 | % |
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Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Net revenue
In fiscal 2025, total net revenue of $34.3 billion represented an increase of $4.2 billion, or 13.8%. U.S. net revenue increased by $2.5 billion, or 23.1% to $13.4 billion, and net revenue from outside of the U.S. increased by $1.7 billion, or 8.6%, to $20.9 billion.
The components of the weighted net revenue change by segment were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Percentage Points | ||||
| Server | 5.4 | 6.3 | ||
| Hybrid Cloud | 0.9 | (0.3) | ||
| Networking | 7.7 | (2.9) | ||
| Financial Services | — | 0.1 | ||
| Corporate Investments and Other | (0.8) | 0.1 | ||
| Total segment | 13.2 | 3.3 | ||
| Elimination of intersegment net revenue and other | 0.6 | 0.1 | ||
| Total HPE | 13.8 | 3.4 |
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
From a segment perspective, the primary factors contributing to the change in total net revenue are summarized as follows:
•Server net revenue increased $1,641 million, or 10.2%, primarily due to higher net AUPs
•Hybrid Cloud net revenue increased $267 million, or 4.9%, primarily due to higher Hybrid Cloud service revenue
•Networking net revenue increased $2,318 million, or 51.1%, primarily due to revenue attributable to Juniper Networks
•Financial Services net revenue decreased $8 million, or 0.2%, primarily due to lower rental revenue on lower average operating leases
•Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased $238 million, or 23.5%, primarily due to the divestiture of the Communications Technology Group (“CTG”) business
Gross profit
Fiscal 2025 total gross profit margin of 30.3% represents a decrease of 2.5 percentage points as compared to the respective prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to an increase in cost of sales in the Server, Networking, and Hybrid Cloud segments.
Operating expenses
Research and development (“R&D”)
R&D expense increased by $272 million, or 12.1%, primarily due to operating expenses associated with Juniper Networks, which contributed 17.3 percentage points to the change. The increase was partially offset by lower operating expenses due to higher mix of capital versus expense investment, which contributed 8.6 percentage points to the change.
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”)
SG&A expense increased by $833 million, or 17.1%, primarily due to increased operating expenses associated with Juniper Networks and higher employee costs, which contributed 14.1 percentage points to the change, and the expenses incurred related to the cost reduction program, which contributed 3.1 percentage points to the change.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Amortization of intangible assets
Amortization of intangible assets increased by $244 million, or 91%, primarily due to the amortization expense of the acquired intangibles as a result of the Merger. The increase was partially offset by certain intangible assets associated with prior acquisitions reaching the end of their amortization periods.
Impairment charges
In fiscal 2025, we recorded goodwill impairment charges and the impairment of certain fixed assets of $1.6 billion. It was determined that the fair value of the Hybrid Cloud reporting unit was below the carrying value of its net assets. The decline in the fair value was primarily driven by an increase in the discount rate used in the discounted cash flows analysis, driven by heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. Refer to Note 11, “Goodwill and Intangible Assets,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II for more information.
Acquisition, disposition and other charges
Acquisition, disposition and other charges increased by $247 million, or 117.1%, primarily due to the Merger.
Interest and other, net
Interest and other, net expense increased by $58 million, or 49.6%, primarily due to higher loss on equity investments of $122 million in the current fiscal year and increase in net interest expense of $114 million. The increase was partially offset by an increase in the non-service net periodic benefit credit of $104 million and the gain of $52 million from the settlement to resolve claims solely against Sushovan Hussain in the ongoing Autonomy litigation.
Gain on sale of equity interest
On September 4, 2024, the Company divested 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C to UNIS. In connection with this sale, we recorded a gain on sale of equity interest of $733 million in fiscal 2024.
Gain on sale of a business
On December 1, 2024, we completed the disposition of CTG. We received net proceeds of $210 million and recognized a gain of $248 million.
Earnings from equity interests
In fiscal 2025, Earnings from equity interests decreased by $68 million, or 46.3%, primarily due to lower earnings from our equity interest in H3C as a result of the disposition of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C in fiscal 2024.
Benefit (provision) for taxes
For fiscal 2025 and 2024, we recorded income tax benefit of $342 million and income tax expense of $374 million, respectively, which reflect effective tax rates of 120.0% and 12.7%, respectively. Our effective tax rate generally differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from our operations in lower tax jurisdictions throughout the world but is also impacted by discrete tax adjustments during the fiscal year. The effective tax rate for fiscal 2025 also included the effects of the non-deductible goodwill impairment.
In fiscal 2025, we recorded $693 million of net income tax benefits related to various items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$402 million of net income tax benefits related to costs incurred as a result of the Merger which was inclusive of a $327 million net income tax benefit from the tax impact of integration transactions,
•$76 million of net income tax benefits related to the release of certain state valuation allowances due to changes in tax law,
•$61 million of net income tax benefits related to the reduction in uncertain tax positions due to statute of limitations expirations, and
•$55 million of net income tax benefits related to the cost reduction program.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
In fiscal 2024, we recorded $43 million of net income tax charges related to various items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$104 million of net income tax charges resulting from the gain on the H3C divestiture, which includes $215 million of U.S. and foreign income tax charges offset by $111 million of income tax benefit for the release of an uncertain tax benefit related to the prior divestiture, partially offset by
•$54 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs, and acquisition, disposition and other charges and
•$11 million of net excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.
Segment Information
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's organizational structure is based on a number of factors that the Chief Operating Decision Maker, who is the Chief Executive Officer, uses to evaluate, view, and run our business operations, which include, but are not limited to, customer base and homogeneity of products and technology. The segments are based on this organizational structure and information reviewed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's management to evaluate segment results.
A description of the products and services for each segment, along with other pertinent information related to Segments can be found in Note 2, “Segment Information,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Segment Results
The following provides an overview of our key financial metrics by segment for fiscal 2025 as compared to fiscal 2024:
| HPE Consolidated | Server | Hybrid Cloud | Networking | Financial Services | CorporateInvestments and Other | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue(1) | $ | 34,296 | $ | 17,745 | $ | 5,754 | $ | 6,850 | $ | 3,504 | $ | 776 | |||||
| Year-over-year change % | 13.8% | 10.2% | 4.9% | 51.1% | (0.2)% | (23.5)% | |||||||||||
| Gross Profit as a % of net revenue | 30.3% | 20.9% | 37.0% | 59.8% | 18.5% | 22.9% | |||||||||||
| (Loss) earnings from operations(2) | $ | (437) | $ | 1,343 | $ | 335 | $ | 1,596 | $ | 361 | $ | (32) | |||||
| (Loss) earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | (1.3)% | 7.6% | 5.8% | 23.3% | 10.3% | (4.1)% | |||||||||||
| Year-over-year change percentage points | (8.6) | pts | (3.6) | pts | 1.1 | pts | (1.3) | pts | 1.3 | pts | (1.6) | pts |
(1)HPE consolidated net revenue excludes inter-segment net revenue.
(2)Segment earnings (loss) from operations exclude certain unallocated corporate costs and eliminations, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, impairment charges, transformation costs, H3C divestiture related severance costs, severance costs related to the cost reduction program, and acquisition, disposition and other charges.
Server
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 vs 2024% Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 17,745 | $ | 16,104 | $ | 14,266 | 10.2 | % | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 14,038 | 12,060 | 10,071 | 16.4 | % | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 3,707 | 4,044 | 4,195 | (8.3) | % | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | 2,364 | 2,240 | 2,380 | 5.5 | % | |||||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,343 | $ | 1,804 | $ | 1,815 | (25.6) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 7.6 | % | 11.2 | % | 12.7 | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Server net revenue increased by $1,641 million, or 10.2%, primarily due to a $1,691 million, or 13.3%, increase in product revenue. The increase in product revenue was primarily due to higher net AUPs of $2,556 million, or 20.1%, partially offset by a decrease in net unit volume of $827 million, or 6.5%.
Server gross profit decreased by $337 million, or 8.3%, primarily driven by an increase in cost of sales by $1,978 million, or 16.4%, due to the input cost increases and higher mix of lower margin products.
Earnings from operations decreased by $461 million, or 25.6%, primarily driven by lower gross profit and an increase in operating expenses by $124 million, or 5.5%, due to higher SG&A expenses.
Hybrid Cloud
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 vs 2024 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 5,754 | $ | 5,487 | $ | 5,588 | 4.9 | % | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 3,624 | 3,302 | 3,314 | 9.8 | % | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 2,130 | 2,185 | 2,274 | (2.5) | % | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | 1,795 | 1,926 | 2,027 | (6.8) | % | |||||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 335 | $ | 259 | $ | 247 | 29.3 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 5.8 | % | 4.7 | % | 4.4 | % |
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Hybrid Cloud net revenue increased by $267 million, or 4.9%, due to an increase in Hybrid Cloud service revenue by $285 million, or 11.7%. The increase was primarily driven by higher services contribution from private cloud solutions. Hybrid Cloud product revenue was relatively flat.
Hybrid Cloud gross profit decreased by $55 million, or 2.5%, primarily driven by an increase in cost of products as we transition to a more software-defined platform with HPE Alletra.
Hybrid Cloud earnings from operations increased by $76 million, or 29.3%, due to a decrease in operating expenses by $131 million, or 6.8%, primarily driven by capitalization of software costs and cost containment measures, partially offset by a decrease in gross profit as mentioned above.
Networking
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 vs 2024 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 6,850 | $ | 4,532 | $ | 5,379 | 51.1 | % | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 2,756 | 1,706 | 2,228 | 61.5 | % | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 4,094 | 2,826 | 3,151 | 44.9 | % | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | 2,498 | 1,711 | 1,808 | 46.0 | % | |||||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,596 | $ | 1,115 | $ | 1,343 | 43.1 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 23.3 | % | 24.6 | % | 25.0 | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Networking net revenue increased by $2,318 million, or 51.1%, primarily due to a $1,444 million, or 43.2%, increase in product revenue, and $874 million, or 73.6%, increase in service revenue. The increase in product revenue was primarily led by revenue attributable to Juniper Networks of $1,367 million, or 40.9%, higher volume and product mix effect of $152 million, or 4.5%, partially offset by lower AUPs of $72 million, or 2.2%. The increase in service revenue was primarily led by revenue attributable to Juniper Networks of $729 million, or 61.4%, and increased services net revenue primarily from our aaS offerings of $144 million, or 12.1%.
Networking gross profit increased by $1,268 million, or 44.9%, primarily driven by increased net revenue as mentioned above. The increase was partially offset by higher cost of sales of $1,050 million, or 61.5%, which was primarily attributable to Juniper Networks and higher input cost.
Networking earnings from operations increased by $481 million, or 43.1%, primarily due to higher gross profit, which was partially offset by an increase in operating expenses of $787 million, or 46.0%. The increase in operating expenses was primarily attributable to Juniper Networks.
Financial Services
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 vs 2024 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,504 | $ | 3,512 | $ | 3,480 | (0.2) | % | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 2,856 | 2,923 | 2,919 | (2.3) | % | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 648 | 589 | 561 | 10.0 | % | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | 287 | 273 | 280 | 5.1 | % | |||||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 361 | $ | 316 | $ | 281 | 14.2 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 10.3 | % | 9.0 | % | 8.1 | % |
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
FS net revenue decreased by $8 million, or 0.2%, primarily due to lower rental revenue on lower average operating leases, largely offset by higher finance income from higher average finance leases, higher asset management remarketing revenue, and asset recovery services revenue.
FS gross profit increased by $59 million, or 10.0%, primarily driven by a decrease in cost of sales of $67 million, or 2.3%, largely due to lower depreciation expense, partially offset by higher bad debt expense.
FS earnings from operations increased by $45 million, or 14.2%, primarily due to higher gross profits, partially offset by an increase in operating expenses by $14 million, or 5.1% resulting from higher SG&A expenses.
Financing Volume
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Financing volume | $ | 5,475 | $ | 6,616 | $ | 6,412 |
Financing volume, which represents the amount of financing provided to customers for equipment and related software and services, including intercompany activity, decreased by 17.2% in fiscal 2025 as compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily driven by lower financing of both HPE and third-party product sales and services.
Portfolio Assets and Ratios
The FS business model is asset intensive and uses certain internal metrics to measure its performance against other financial services companies, including a segment balance sheet that is derived from our internal management reporting system. The accounting policies used to derive FS amounts are substantially the same as those used by the Company. However,
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
intercompany loans and certain accounts that are reflected in the segment balances are eliminated in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The portfolio assets and ratios derived from the segment balance sheets for FS were as follows:
| As of October 31 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| Financing receivables, gross | $ | 9,740 | $ | 9,647 | ||
| Net equipment under operating leases | 3,159 | 3,632 | ||||
| Capitalized profit on intercompany equipment transactions(1) | 388 | 396 | ||||
| Intercompany leases(1) | 134 | 119 | ||||
| Gross portfolio assets | 13,421 | 13,794 | ||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts(2) | 189 | 177 | ||||
| Operating lease equipment reserve | 51 | 30 | ||||
| Total reserves | 240 | 207 | ||||
| Net portfolio assets | $ | 13,181 | $ | 13,587 | ||
| Reserve coverage | 1.8 | % | 1.5 | % | ||
| Debt-to-equity ratio(3) | 7.0x | 7.0x |
(1)Intercompany activity is eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Allowance for credit losses for financing receivables includes both the short- and long-term portions.
(3)Debt benefiting FS consists of intercompany equity that is treated as debt for segment reporting purposes, intercompany debt, and borrowing- and funding-related activity associated with FS and its subsidiaries. Debt benefiting FS totaled $11.6 billion and $11.8 billion at October 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and was determined by applying an assumed debt-to-equity ratio, which management believes to be comparable to that of other similar financing companies. FS equity at October 31, 2025 and 2024, was $1.7 billion.
As of October 31, 2025 and 2024, FS net cash and cash equivalents balances were $727 million and $533 million, respectively.
Net portfolio assets as of October 31, 2025 decreased 3.0% from October 31, 2024. The decrease generally resulted from portfolio runoff exceeding new financing volume during the period.
FS bad debt expense includes charges to general reserves, specific reserves and write-offs for sales-type, direct-financing and operating leases. FS recorded net bad debt expense of $96 million, $57 million and $59 million in fiscal 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Corporate Investments and Other
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 vs 2024 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 776 | $ | 1,014 | $ | 985 | (23.5) | % | ||||||
| Cost of sales | 598 | 795 | 808 | (24.8) | % | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 178 | 219 | 177 | (18.7) | % | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | 210 | 244 | 254 | (13.9) | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (32) | $ | (25) | $ | (77) | (28.0) | % | ||||||
| Loss from operations as a % of net revenue | (4.1) | % | (2.5) | % | (7.8) | % |
Fiscal 2025 compared with fiscal 2024
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased by $238 million, or 23.5%, primarily due to the divestiture of the CTG business effective December 1, 2024.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Gross profit decreased by $41 million, or 18.7%, primarily due to lower net revenue driven by the divestiture of the CTG business, partially offset by a decrease in cost of sales.
Loss from operations increased by $7 million, or 28.0%, primarily driven by lower gross profit, partially offset by a decrease in operating expenses due to the divestiture of the CTG business.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Overview
We use cash generated by operations as our primary source of liquidity. We believe that internally generated cash flows will be generally sufficient to support our operating businesses, capital expenditures, product development initiatives, and disposal activities including legal settlements, restructuring activities, transformation costs, indemnifications, maturing debt, interest payments, and income tax payments, in addition to any future investments, share repurchases, and stockholder dividend payments. We expect to supplement this short-term liquidity, if necessary, by accessing the capital markets, issuing commercial paper, and borrowing under credit facilities made available by various domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, our access to capital markets may be constrained and our cost of borrowing may increase under certain business, market and economic conditions. We anticipate that the funds made available and cash generated from our operations, along with our access to capital markets, will be sufficient to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve months and for the foreseeable future thereafter. Our liquidity is subject to various risks including the risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A and market risks identified in the section entitled “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in Item 7A.
Our cash balances are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with a substantial amount held outside the U.S. as of October 31, 2025. We utilize a variety of planning and financing strategies in an effort to ensure that our worldwide cash is available when and where it is needed.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support our non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations of amounts held outside the U.S. generally will not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective, but may be subject to state income or foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through ongoing cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition, or results of operations.
In connection with the share repurchase program previously authorized by our Board of Directors, during fiscal 2025, we repurchased and settled an aggregate amount of $202 million. As of October 31, 2025, we had a remaining authorization of approximately $3.6 billion for future share repurchases. For more information on our share repurchase program, refer to Note 15, “Stockholders' Equity,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
On November 17, 2025 and November 28, 2025, we announced plans to divest our remaining investment in H3C’s issued share capital for approximately $1.4 billion. For more information on the pending divestiture of H3C shares, refer to Note 19, “Equity Interests,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
On May 23, 2024, we announced plans to divest our CTG business to HCLTech. CTG was included in our Communications and Media Solutions business, which was reported in the Corporate Investments and Other segment. This divestiture includes the platform-based software solutions portions of the CTG portfolio, including systems integration, network applications, data intelligence, and the business support systems groups. On December 1, 2024, we completed the disposition of CTG. We received net proceeds of $210 million and recognized a gain of $248 million included in Gain on sale of a business in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.
HPE funded the aggregate consideration for the Merger through a combination of cash from its balance sheet, commercial paper issuances, and borrowings pursuant to the three-year delayed-draw term loan credit facility of $3.0 billion and the 364-day delayed-draw term loan credit facility of $1.0 billion entered into in September 2024. As of October 31, 2025, $2.0 billion was outstanding against the three-year delayed-draw term loan credit facility while no balances were outstanding against the 364-day delayed-draw term loan credit facility.
For more information on the drawdown term loan facility, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Liquidity
Our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, total debt and available borrowing resources were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 5,859 | $ | 15,105 | $ | 4,581 | ||||
| Total debt | 22,365 | 18,246 | 12,355 | |||||||
| Available borrowing resources(1) | 6,122 | 6,009 | 6,588 | |||||||
| Commercial paper programs(2) | 5,069 | 5,101 | 5,071 | |||||||
| Uncommitted lines of credit(3) | $ | 1,053 | $ | 908 | $ | 1,517 |
(1)The fiscal 2024 period excludes the financing commitment for the Merger. The maximum aggregate commitment under those facilities was $4.0 billion, however, no balances were outstanding under these facilities as of October 31, 2024. These facilities were not available as of the end of fiscal 2023.
(2) The maximum borrowing amounts available under the commercial paper programs and revolving credit facility are $5.75 billion and $5.25 billion, respectively, as at October 31, 2025. The combined borrowings between both sources cannot exceed $5.75 billion.
(3) The maximum aggregate capacity under the uncommitted lines of credit is $1.4 billion of which $0.4 billion was primarily utilized towards issuances of bank guarantees as of October 31, 2025.
The following tables represent the way in which management reviews cash flows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 2,919 | $ | 4,341 | $ | 4,428 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (13,190) | (53) | (3,284) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 1,046 | 6,283 | (1,362) | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (21) | (47) | 36 | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | (9,246) | $ | 10,524 | $ | (182) | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 986 | $ | 2,297 | $ | 2,238 |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $1.4 billion for fiscal 2025, as compared to fiscal 2024. The decrease was primarily due to unfavorable working capital, largely resulting from timing of vendor payments moderated by lower inventory purchases. The decrease was partially offset by lower financing lease volume and higher net cash generated from operations in the current period.
Our working capital metrics and cash conversion impacts were as follows:
| As of October 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable (“DSO”) | 49 | 38 | 43 | ||||
| Days of supply in inventory (“DOS”) | 89 | 120 | 87 | ||||
| Days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable (“DPO”) | (108) | (170) | (134) | ||||
| Cash conversion cycle | 30 | (12) | (4) |
The cash conversion cycle is the sum of DSO and DOS less DPO. Items which may cause the cash conversion cycle in a particular period to differ include, but are not limited to, changes in business mix, changes in payment terms (including extended payment terms to customers or from suppliers), early or late invoice payments from customers or to suppliers, the extent of receivables factoring, seasonal trends, the timing of the revenue recognition and inventory purchases within the period, the impact of commodity costs and acquisition activity.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
DSO measures the average number of days our receivables are outstanding. DSO is calculated by dividing ending accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, by a 90-day average of net revenue. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2024, the increase in DSO by 11 days in the current period was primarily due to a decrease in early payments, along with the impact of incremental receivables as a result of the Merger.
DOS measures the average number of days from procurement to sale of our products. DOS is calculated by dividing ending inventory by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2024, the decrease in DOS by 31 days in the current period was primarily due to higher shipments for large deals and lower purchases due to seasonality.
DPO measures the average number of days our accounts payable balances are outstanding. DPO is calculated by dividing ending accounts payable by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2024, the decrease in DPO by 62 days in the current period was primarily due to lower purchases, along with higher payments to outsourced manufacturers.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities increased by $13.1 billion in fiscal 2025, as compared to fiscal 2024. The increase was primarily due to a payment of $12.3 billion (net of cash acquired) made during the current period for the Merger, and proceeds of $2.1 billion from the prior-year sale of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C. The increase was moderated by higher proceeds from the sale of available-for-sale securities of $0.9 billion and proceeds from the divestiture of our CTG business for $0.2 billion during the current period, as compared to the prior-year period.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities decreased by $5.2 billion in fiscal 2025, as compared to fiscal 2024. This decrease was primarily due to lower proceeds from debt of $2.1 billion (net of issuance costs), higher repayments of debt of $1.4 billion, and higher cash utilized for stock-based award activities of $0.2 billion during the current period, as compared to the prior-year period. In addition, the prior-year period included proceeds from the issuance of the Preferred Stock (net of issuance costs) of $1.5 billion.
Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow (“FCF”) represents cash flow from operations less net capital expenditures (investments in property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) and software assets less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF decreased by $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025, as compared to fiscal 2024, primarily due to lower cash provided by operating activities. For more information on our FCF, refer to the section entitled “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A.
For more information on the impact of operating assets and liabilities to our cash flows, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Capital Resources
Debt Levels
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Short-term debt | $ | 4,609 | $ | 4,742 | $ | 4,868 | ||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 17,756 | $ | 13,504 | $ | 7,487 | ||||
| Weighted-average interest rate | 4.8 | % | 5.4 | % | 5.4 | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
We maintain debt levels that we establish through consideration of several factors, including cash flow expectations, cash requirements for operations, investment plans (including acquisitions), share repurchase activities, our cost of capital, and targeted capital structure. We maintain a revolving credit facility and two commercial paper programs, “the Parent Programs,” and a wholly-owned subsidiary maintains a third program. In September 2024, we terminated our prior senior unsecured revolving credit facility that was entered into in December 2021, and entered into a new senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an aggregate lending commitment of $5.25 billion for a period of five years. The commitment initially comprised of (i) $4.75 billion of commitments available immediately and (ii) $500 million of commitments available from and subject to the closing of the Merger and refinancing of Juniper Networks’ credit agreement. With the completion of the Merger and the associated refinancing, the full $5.25 billion commitment under the new facility is now available to us. There have been no changes to our commercial paper programs since October 31, 2024.
In December 2023, we filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows us to sell, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depository shares, purchase contracts, guarantees or units consisting of any of these securities.
Significant funding and liquidity activities for fiscal 2025 were as follows:
Debt Issuances:
•In October 2025, we issued $660 million of asset-backed debt securities in six tranches at a weighted-average interest rate of 4.314% and a final maturity date of May 2033.
•In September 2025, we issued (i) $900 million of 4.05% Senior Notes due September 15, 2027, (ii) $300 million of Floating Rate Notes due September 15, 2028, (iii) $850 million of 4.15% Senior Notes due September 15, 2028, and (iv) $850 million of 4.40% Senior Notes due October 15, 2030.
•In July 2025, we assumed fixed-rate Senior Notes of Juniper Networks with par value of $1.7 billion as a part of the Merger. For further information see Note 10, “Acquisitions and Dispositions,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
•In July 2025, to support the funding of the Merger, we drew $3.0 billion under the three-year delayed-draw term loan credit facility and $1.0 billion under the 364-day delayed-draw term loan credit facility. The 364-day loan is scheduled for full repayment on July 1, 2026. The three-year loan is subject to quarterly amortization at 1.25%, with the remaining balance due at maturity on June 30, 2028.
•In July 2025, we issued $900 million of asset-backed debt securities in six tranches at a weighted-average interest rate of 4.673% and a final maturity date of March 2033.
Debt Repayments:
•In October 2025, we prepaid $1 billion against the $3.0 billion we initially borrowed under the three-year delayed-draw term loan credit facility. The repayment was made at par, along with accrued interest.
•In September 2025, we repaid the entire $1 billion under the 364-day delayed-draw term loan credit facility. The repayment was made at par, along with accrued interest.
•In September 2025, we redeemed the entire $2.5 billion aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 4.900% Notes with an original maturity date of October 15, 2025. The Notes were redeemed at par, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the redemption date of September 17, 2025.
•During fiscal 2025, we repaid $1.5 billion of the outstanding asset-backed debt securities.
Our weighted-average interest rate reflects the average effective rate on our borrowings prevailing during the period and reflects the impact of interest rate swaps. For more information on our interest rate swaps, see Note 13, “Financial Instruments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
For more information on our available borrowing resources and the impact of operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” and Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Cash Requirements and Commitments
Long-term debt and interest payments on debt
As of October 31, 2025, future principal payment obligations on our long-term debt including asset-backed debt securities totaled $21.7 billion of which $3.8 billion is due within one year. As of October 31, 2025, our finance lease obligations, including interest, was $35 million, of which $7 million is to be due within one year. For more information on our debt, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
As of October 31, 2025, future interest payments relating to our long-term debt is estimated to be approximately $8.1 billion, of which $1.0 billion is expected to be due within one year. We use interest rate swaps to mitigate the exposure of our fixed rate debt to changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates, or hedge the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with our variable-rate debt. The impact of our outstanding interest rate swaps as of October 31, 2025 was factored into the calculation of the future interest payments on long-term debt.
Operating lease obligations
We enter into various leases as a lessee for assets including office buildings, data centers, vehicles, and aviation. As of October 31, 2025, operating lease obligations, net of sublease rental income totaled $1.8 billion, of which $342 million is due within one year. For more information on our leases, see Note 8, “Accounting for Leases as a Lessee,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Unconditional purchase obligations
Our unconditional purchase obligations are related principally to inventory purchases, software maintenance and support services and other items. Unconditional purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancellable without penalty. As of October 31, 2025, unconditional purchase obligations totaled $3.3 billion, of which $2.0 billion is due within one year. In connection with the Merger, our unconditional purchase obligations increased by $1.5 billion. For more information on our unconditional purchase obligations, see Note 17, “Litigation, Contingencies, and Commitments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Retirement Benefit Plan Funding
In fiscal 2026, we anticipate making contributions of $220 million to our non-U.S. pension plans. Our policy is to fund pension plans to meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by various authorities including local government and taxing authorities. Expected contributions and payments to our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are not considered as contractual obligations because they do not represent contractual cash outflows, as they are dependent on numerous factors which may result in a wide range of outcomes. For more information on our retirement and post-retirement benefit plans, see Note 4, “Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Restructuring Plans
As of October 31, 2025, we expect to make future cash payments of approximately $112 million in connection with our approved restructuring plans, which includes $28 million expected to be paid in fiscal 2026 and $84 million expected to be paid thereafter. Payments for restructuring activities are not considered as contractual obligations, because they do not represent contractual cash outflows and there is uncertainty as to the timing of these payments. For more information on our restructuring activities, see Note 3, “Transformation Programs,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Cost Savings Plans
The Program is expected to be implemented through fiscal year 2026. The estimates of the duration of the Program, the charges and expenditures that we expect to incur in connection therewith, and the timing thereof are subject to a number of assumptions, including local law requirements in various jurisdictions, and actual amounts may differ materially from estimates. In connection with the integration of Juniper Networks, we expect to incur costs over the next three fiscal years to achieve synergies, actual costs incurred may differ from estimates. As of October 31, 2025, we expect to make future cash payments of approximately $1.1 billion in connection with these cost savings plans, which includes $690 million expected to be paid through the remainder of fiscal 2026 and $420 million expected to be paid thereafter.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Uncertain Tax Positions
As of October 31, 2025, we had approximately $194 million of recorded liabilities and related interest and penalties pertaining to uncertain tax positions. These liabilities and related interest and penalties include $2 million expected to be paid within one year. For the remaining amount, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate as to when cash settlement with the tax authorities might occur due to the uncertainties related to these tax matters. Payments of these obligations would result from settlements with taxing authorities. For more information on our uncertain tax positions, see Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we have not participated in transactions that generate material relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
We have third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for the periods presented:
Reconciliation of GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin to non-GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| Dollars In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP net revenue | $ | 34,296 | 100.0 | % | $ | 30,127 | 100.0 | % | |||||
| GAAP cost of sales | 23,919 | 69.7 | % | 20,249 | 67.2 | % | |||||||
| GAAP gross profit | 10,377 | 30.3 | % | 9,878 | 32.8 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | |||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 49 | 0.1 | % | 49 | 0.2 | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other charges(1) | 236 | 0.7 | % | (34) | (0.1) | % | |||||||
| Cost reduction program | 126 | 0.4 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| H3C divestiture related severance costs | 17 | — | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 10,805 | 31.5 | % | $ | 9,893 | 32.8 | % |
(1) Includes disaster recovery and divestiture related exit costs. For fiscal 2025, Acquisition, disposition and other charges include non-cash amortization of fair value adjustment for inventory in connection with the Merger, which was recorded in cost of sales.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP earnings (loss) from operations and operating profit margin to non-GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| Dollars In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP (loss) earnings from operations | $ | (437) | (1.3) | % | $ | 2,190 | 7.3 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 511 | 1.5 | % | 267 | 0.9 | % | |||||||
| Impairment charges | 1,621 | 4.7 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Transformation costs | 2 | — | % | 93 | 0.3 | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 643 | 1.9 | % | 430 | 1.4 | % | |||||||
| H3C divestiture related severance costs | 97 | 0.3 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Cost reduction program | 275 | 0.8 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other charges(1) | 641 | 1.9 | % | 188 | 0.6 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,353 | 9.8 | % | $ | 3,168 | 10.5 | % |
(1) Includes disaster recovery and divestiture related exit costs. For fiscal 2025, Acquisition, disposition and other charges include non-cash amortization of fair value adjustment for inventory in connection with the Merger, which was recorded in cost of sales.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share to non-GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Dollars | Diluted Net EPS(1) | Dollars | Diluted Net EPS | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions except per share amounts | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP net (loss) earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | (59) | $ | (0.04) | $ | 2,554 | $ | 1.93 | ||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | 116 | 25 | ||||||||||||
| GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE | 57 | $ | (0.04) | 2,579 | $ | 1.93 | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 511 | 0.39 | 267 | 0.20 | ||||||||||
| Impairment charges | 1,621 | 1.22 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 2 | — | 93 | 0.07 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 643 | 0.49 | 430 | 0.32 | ||||||||||
| Gain on sale of a business | (248) | (0.19) | — | — | ||||||||||
| H3C divestiture related severance costs | 97 | 0.07 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Cost reduction program | 275 | 0.21 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other charges(2) | 641 | 0.49 | 188 | 0.15 | ||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | (52) | (0.04) | — | — | ||||||||||
| Gain on sale of equity interest | — | — | (733) | (0.55) | ||||||||||
| Loss on equity investments, net | 140 | 0.10 | (94) | (0.07) | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for taxes | (828) | (0.64) | (95) | (0.07) | ||||||||||
| Other adjustments(3)(4) | (106) | (0.12) | 20 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE(5) | 2,753 | 1.94 | 2,655 | 1.99 | ||||||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | (116) | (25) | ||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | 2,637 | $ | 2,630 |
(1) Non-GAAP diluted net EPS reflects any dilutive effect of outstanding convertible preferred stock and employee stock plans, but that effect is excluded when calculating GAAP diluted net EPS as that would be anti-dilutive. See Note 16 “Net (Loss) Earnings Per Share,” to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1 of Part I for further information.
(2) Includes disaster recovery and divestiture related exit costs. For fiscal 2025, Acquisition, disposition and other charges include non-cash amortization of fair value adjustment for inventory in connection with the Merger, which was recorded in cost of sales.
(3) Other adjustments includes non-service net periodic benefit credit and tax indemnification and other adjustments.
(4) For fiscal 2025, the diluted net EPS adjustment includes the impact to Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE for the dilutive effect of preferred stock and the employee stock plans.
(5) For purposes of calculating Non-GAAP diluted net EPS, the preferred stock dividends are added back to the Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders and the diluted weighted average share calculation assumes the preferred stock was converted at issuance or as of the beginning of the reporting period.
Shares used to calculate Non-GAAP diluted net EPS.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| In millions | ||||
| Weighted-average shares used to compute basic net EPS | 1,324 | 1,309 | ||
| Dilutive effect of employee stock plans | 18 | 18 | ||
| Dilutive effect of 7.625% Series C mandatory convertible preferred stock | 76 | 10 | ||
| Weighted-average shares used to compute Non-GAAP diluted net EPS | 1,418 | 1,337 |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 2,919 | $ | 4,341 | $ | 4,428 | ||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment and software assets | (2,292) | (2,367) | (2,828) | |||||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 380 | 370 | 602 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (21) | (47) | 36 | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 986 | $ | 2,297 | $ | 2,238 |
Use of non-GAAP Financial Measures
The non-GAAP financial measures presented are non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue), non-GAAP tax rate, non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE, non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders, and FCF. These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit margin is gross profit margin. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP earnings from operations is earnings from operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) is operating profit margin (earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue). The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP income tax rate is income tax rate. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE and non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders is net earnings attributable to HPE and net earnings attributable to common stockholders. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders is diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to FCF is cash flow from operations.
We believe that providing the non-GAAP measures stated above, in addition to the related GAAP measures provides greater transparency to the information used in our financial and operational decision making and allows the reader of our Consolidated Financial Statements to see our financial results “through the eyes” of management. We further believe that providing this information provides investors with a supplemental view to understand our historical and prospective operating performance and to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by management to evaluate and measure such performance. Disclosure of these non-GAAP financial measures also facilitates comparisons of our operating performance with the performance of other companies in the same industry that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated in a similar manner.
Economic Substance of non-GAAP Financial Measures
We believe that excluding the items mentioned below from the non-GAAP financial measures provides a supplemental view to management and our investors of our consolidated financial performance and presents the financial results of the business without costs that we do not believe to be reflective of our ongoing operating results. Exclusion of these items can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP measure and cash flows thus limiting the use of such non-GAAP financial measures as analytic tools. See “Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below for further information.
Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross profit margin are defined to exclude charges related to stock-based compensation expense, acquisition, disposition and other charges, severance costs associated with the cost reduction program, and H3C divestiture related severance costs. See below for the reasons management excludes each item:
•Stock-based compensation expense consists of equity awards granted based on the estimated fair value of those awards at grant date. Although stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to our employees, we exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are non-cash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding stock-based compensation expense.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
•We incur costs related to our acquisition, disposition and other charges. Charges include expenses associated with acquisitions, non-cash amortization of fair value adjustment for inventory in connection with the Merger, exit costs associated with disposal activities, and disaster (recovery) charges. We exclude these costs because we consider these charges to be discrete events and do not believe they are reflective of normal continuing business operations. For fiscal 2025, acquisition charges were driven by costs associated with the Merger and miscellaneous disposition related charges. For fiscal 2024, acquisition charges were driven by the Merger and prior acquisitions of Axis and Athonet.
•We incurred severance and other charges pursuant to cost management initiatives. We exclude these charges because we do not believe they are reflective of normal continuing business operations. We believe eliminating these adjustments for the purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•We incurred H3C divestiture related severance costs in connection with the disposition of issued share capital of H3C held by HPE. On September 4, 2024, we divested 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C and received proceeds of $2.1 billion of pre-tax consideration ($2.0 billion post-tax). The divestiture resulted in decreased future investment earnings and cash dividend inflows resulting in a decision to implement offsetting cost savings measures. These measures include severance for certain of the Company’s employees. The non-GAAP adjustment represents our costs to execute these related exit actions to offset the loss in equity earnings and related cash flows. We expect future annualized cost savings of approximately $120 million following the completion of these actions.
Non-GAAP earnings from operations and non-GAAP operating profit margin consist of earnings from operations or earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue excluding the items mentioned above and charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets, impairment charges, and transformation costs. In addition to the items previously explained above, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
•We incur charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets and exclude these charges for purposes of calculating these non-GAAP measures. Such charges are significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisitions. We exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are noncash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding intangible asset amortization. Although this does not directly affect our cash position, the loss in value of intangible assets over time can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
•In fiscal 2025, we recorded non-cash impairment charges for the goodwill associated with our Hybrid Cloud reporting unit and the impairment of certain fixed assets. HPE believes that these non-cash charges do not reflect the Company’s operating results and is not indicative of the underlying performance of the business. HPE excludes these charges for purposes of calculating these non-GAAP measures to facilitate a supplemental evaluation of the Company’s current operating performance and comparisons to past operating results. Although this does not directly affect our cash position, the loss in value of goodwill over time can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
•Transformation costs represent net costs related to the (i) HPE Next Plan and (ii) Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan. We exclude these costs as they are discrete costs related to two specific transformation programs that were announced in 2017 and 2020, respectively, as multi-year programs necessary to transform the business and IT infrastructure. The primary elements of the HPE Next and the Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan have been substantially completed by October 31, 2024. The exclusion of the transformation program costs from our non-GAAP financial measures as stated above is to provide a supplemental measure of our operating results that does not include material HPE Next Plan and Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan costs as we do not believe such costs to be reflective of our ongoing operating cost structure.
Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE, non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders, and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding those same charges mentioned above, as well as other items such as gain on sale of a business, adjustments for equity interests, gain or loss on equity investments, other adjustments, and adjustments for taxes. Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders includes preferred stock dividends added back to non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE. The Adjustments for taxes line item includes certain income tax valuation allowances and separation taxes, the impact of tax law changes, structural rate adjustment, excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation, and adjustments for additional taxes or tax benefits associated with each non-GAAP item. In addition to the items previously explained, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
•Gain on sale of a business represents the gain associated with certain disposal activities. On December 1, 2024, we completed the disposition of CTG which resulted in a gain of $248 million. We consider this divestiture to be a discrete event and believe eliminating this adjustment for the purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•During the six months ended April 30, 2024, we stopped reporting H3C earnings in our non-GAAP results due to the planned divestiture of the H3C investment. Per the terms of the original Put Share Purchase Agreement, we weren’t anticipating receiving dividends from this investment prospectively. However, on May 24, 2024, we entered into an Amended and Restated Put Share Purchase Agreement and an Agreement on Subsequent Arrangements, both with UNIS, which, taken together, revise the arrangements governing the aforementioned sale as previously set forth in the original Put Share Purchase Agreement. On September 4, 2024, we divested 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C. As of October 31, 2025, we continued to possess the option to sell the remaining 19% of the total issued share capital of H3C. Subsequent to fiscal year end, however, we entered into share purchase agreements to divest all of the remaining issued share capital of H3C held by HPE through its subsidiaries. We believe that eliminating these amounts for purposes of calculating non-GAAP financial measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Hewlett Packard Enterprise received $52 million from a settlement to resolve claims solely against Sushovan Hussain, in the ongoing Autonomy litigation. We exclude the litigation judgment for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures to facilitate a supplemental evaluation of the Company’s current operating performance and comparisons to past operating results.
•We exclude gains and losses (including impairments) on our non-marketable equity investments because we do not believe they are reflective of normal continuing business operations. These adjustments are reflected in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. We believe eliminating these adjustments for the purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•We utilize a structural long-term projected non-GAAP income tax rate in order to provide consistency across the interim reporting periods and to eliminate the effects of items not directly related to our operating structure that can vary in size, frequency and timing. When projecting this long-term rate, we evaluated a three-year financial projection. The projected rate assumes no incremental acquisitions in the three-year projection period and considers other factors including our expected tax structure, our tax positions in various jurisdictions and current impacts from key legislation implemented in major jurisdictions where we operate. For fiscal 2025 and 2024, we used a projected non-GAAP income tax rate of 15%, which reflects currently available information as well as other factors and assumptions. The non-GAAP income tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate its long-term rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures, facilitates a supplemental evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to past operating results.
FCF is defined as cash flow from operations, less net capital expenditures (investments in PP&E and software assets less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF does not represent the total increase or decrease in cash for the period. Our management and investors can use FCF for the purpose of determining the amount of cash available for investment in our businesses, repurchasing stock and other purposes as well as evaluating our historical and prospective liquidity.
Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non- GAAP financial measures are that they can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measures and cash flows, they may be calculated differently by other companies (limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes) and may not reflect the full economic effect of the loss in value of certain assets.
We compensate for these limitations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. We also provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for this fiscal year and prior periods, and we encourage investors to review those reconciliations carefully.
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001645590-24-000139.
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) section, we use the terms “Hewlett Packard Enterprise,” “HPE,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.
This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023. Discussions of fiscal 2022 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year October 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2023, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Consolidated Financial Statements, changes in certain key items in these financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for these changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management, such as the mixed macroeconomic environment of supply chain constraints (though easing), uneven demand across our portfolio, increased demand for and adoption of new technologies, conservative (though recovering) customer spending environment, persistent inflation, foreign exchange pressures, recent tax developments, and pending merger with Juniper Networks, Inc. (“Juniper Networks”).
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and a summary of our financial performance and other highlights, including non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis of changes in our cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, and cash requirements and commitments.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations. Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. This section also includes a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
During fiscal 2024, the effects of the evolving macroeconomic environment on demand persisted and certain significant developments impacted our operations as follows:
Technological Advancements: We have observed market trends and demand (of customers of various segments and sizes) gravitating towards artificial intelligence (“AI”), hybrid cloud, edge computing, data security capabilities, and related offerings. The volume of data at the edge continues to grow, driven by the proliferation of more devices. The need for a unified cloud experience everywhere has grown, as well, in order to manage the growth of data at the edge. With the abundance of data, there are opportunities to develop AI tools with powerful computational abilities to extract insights and value from the captured data. Increasing demand for AI is also contributing to changes in the competitive landscape. Our major competitors and emerging competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions and exerting increased competitive pressure. We expect these market dynamics and trends to continue in the longer term.
Macroeconomic Uncertainty: The effect of the evolving macroeconomic environment has been impacting industry-wide demand, as customers take longer to work through prior orders and have been adopting a more conservative approach to discretionary IT spending. This has resulted in uneven demand across our portfolio and geographies, particularly for certain of our hardware offerings, as customers have focused investments on modernizing infrastructure, such as migrating to cloud-based
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
offerings, including our own. We expect such mixed macroeconomic environment to largely continue (though ease slightly) and possibly limit revenue growth in the near term.
Supply Chain: During fiscal 2024, we experienced supply chain constraints for certain components, including graphics processing units (“GPUs”) and accelerated processing units, but they have since eased, in part due to increased availability of supply and lower material and logistics costs. Logistics costs decreased from previously elevated levels as a result of declines in both expedited shipments and overall rate costs in the freight network. We have, in fact, been experiencing higher-than-normal inventory levels, primarily due to customers transitioning to the next generation of GPUs, our securing supply ahead of demand, and longer customer acceptance timelines on AI-related orders; we expect this trend to continue in the medium term. We have experienced, and expect to continue experiencing, rising input component costs and a competitive pricing environment, which may impact our financial results. We plan to mitigate the impact of these dynamics through continued disciplined cost and pricing management.
Recurring Revenue and Consumption Models: We continue to strengthen our core server and storage-oriented offerings and expand our offerings on the HPE GreenLake cloud, to deliver our entire portfolio as-a-service (“aaS”) and become the edge-to-cloud company for our customers and partners. We expect that such flexible consumption model will continue to strengthen our customer relationships and contribute to growth in recurring revenue.
Foreign Currency Exposure: We have a large global presence, with more than half of our revenue generated outside of the U.S. As a result, our financial results can be, and particularly in recent periods have been, impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We utilize a comprehensive hedging strategy intended to mitigate the impact of foreign currency volatility over time, and we adjust pricing when possible to further minimize foreign currency impacts.
Recent Tax Developments: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), an international association of 38 countries including the United States, has proposed changes to numerous long-standing tax principles, namely, its Pillar Two framework, which imposes a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. To date, 43 countries have enacted portions, or all, of the OECD proposal and a further 22 countries have drafted, or have announced an intent to draft, legislation enacting the proposed rules. Where enacted, the rules begin to be effective for us in fiscal 2025. Under US GAAP, the OECD Pillar Two rules are considered an alternative minimum tax and therefore deferred taxes would not be recognized or adjusted for the estimated effects of the future minimum tax. As a result, there was no impact to our fiscal 2024 results. The adoption and effective dates of these rules may vary by country and could increase tax complexity and uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes. We currently do not expect a material impact to our fiscal 2025 results.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is conducting audits of our fiscal 2017 through 2022 U.S. federal income tax returns. During fiscal 2023, the IRS issued notices of proposed adjustments (“NOPAs”) for 2017, 2018, and 2019 relating to our intercompany transfer pricing. During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the IRS issued a Revenue Agent Report finalizing their position on the NOPAs for the same issues and same fiscal years. However, we disagreed with the IRS’ adjustments and believe the positions taken on our tax returns are more likely than not to prevail on technical merits and have continued with settlement discussions with the IRS. During the third quarter of fiscal 2024, we submitted a formal settlement offer to the IRS to facilitate the closing of the audit and recorded increased reserves for unrecognized tax benefits of $122 million. The impact of the increase in reserves is almost entirely offset with a valuation allowance release, and the net impact to income tax expense for fiscal 2024 was not material. It is reasonably possible that the IRS audit for fiscal 2017 through 2019 may be concluded in the next 12 months, and it is reasonably possible that existing unrecognized tax benefits related to these years may be reduced by an amount up to $358 million within the next 12 months, the majority of which relates to adjustments to foreign tax credits that carry a full valuation allowance or to the timing of intercompany royalty revenue recognition, neither of which affects the Company’s effective tax rate.
Other Trends and Uncertainties: The impacts of trade protection measures, including increases in tariffs and trade barriers, changes in government policies and international trade arrangements, geopolitical volatility (including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East), and global macroeconomic challenges (including the relationship between China and the U.S.), may impact our operations, financial performance, and ability to conduct business in some non-U.S. markets. We monitor and seek to mitigate these risks with adjustments to our manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution networks.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Pending Merger with Juniper Networks, Inc: On January 9, 2024, we entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) under which we will acquire Juniper Networks in an all-cash transaction for $40.00 per share (the “Merger”), representing an equity value of approximately $14 billion. On April 2, 2024, Juniper Networks shareholders approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to be funded based on senior unsecured delayed draw term loans from a syndicate of banks, the post-tax proceeds from our sale to Unisplendour International Technology Limited (“UNIS”) of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C Technologies Co., Limited (“H3C”), the net proceeds (including after repayments of maturing debt) of our September 2024 issuances of senior unsecured notes and the Preferred Stock (as further described in Note 15, “Stockholders’ Equity” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II), and cash on the balance sheet. The closing of the transaction remains subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
For further information about the Merger, see Note 10, “Acquisitions and Dispositions” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, and for further discussion about the risks related to the Merger, see the section titled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The foregoing summary of the Merger, the adoption of the Merger Agreement, and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Merger Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 2024.
The following Executive Overview, Results of Operations and Liquidity discussions and analysis compare fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2023, unless otherwise noted. The Capital Resources and, Cash Requirements and Commitments sections present information as of October 31, 2024, unless otherwise noted.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Net revenue of $30.1 billion represented an increase of 3.4% (increased 3.3% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to higher average unit prices (“AUPs”) in the Server segment, moderated by lower volume and product mix effect in the Intelligent Edge segment. The gross profit margin of 32.8% (or $9.9 billion) represents a decrease of 2.3 percentage points from the prior-year period due to decline in revenue in the Intelligent Edge segment and higher mix of lower margin products in the Server segment. The operating profit margin of 7.3% was relatively flat as compared to the prior-year period.
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 30,127 | $ | 29,135 | 3.4% | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 9,878 | $ | 10,239 | (3.5)% | ||||
| Gross profit margin | 32.8 | % | 35.1 | % | (2.3)pts | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 2,190 | $ | 2,089 | 4.8% | ||||
| Operating profit margin | 7.3 | % | 7.2 | % | 0.1pts | ||||
| Net earnings attributable to HPE | $ | 2,579 | $ | 2,025 | 27.4% | ||||
| Net earnings attributable to common stockholders | 2,554 | 2,025 | 26.1% | ||||||
| Diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders(1) | 1.93 | 1.54 | $0.39 | ||||||
| Cash flow from operations | $ | 4,341 | $ | 4,428 | $(87) |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The following table summarizes our consolidated non-GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue in constant currency | $ | 30,107 | $ | 29,135 | 3.3% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,893 | $ | 10,273 | (3.7)% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit margin | 32.8 | % | 35.3 | % | (2.5)pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,168 | $ | 3,145 | 0.7% | ||||
| Non-GAAP operating profit margin | 10.5 | % | 10.8 | % | (0.3)pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE | $ | 2,655 | $ | 2,832 | (6.3)% | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders | 2,630 | 2,832 | (7.1)% | ||||||
| Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to common stockholders(1) | 1.99 | 2.15 | $(0.16) | ||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 2,297 | $ | 2,238 | $59 |
(1)For purposes of calculating diluted net EPS, the preferred stock dividends are added back to the net earnings attributable to common stockholders and the diluted weighted average share calculation assumes the preferred stock was converted at issuance or as of the beginning of the reporting period.
Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure herein. Please refer to the section “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A for these reconciliations, a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
Annualized Revenue Run-rate (“ARR”)
Our pivot to aaS continues its strong momentum with the addition of HPE GreenLake cloud services. Our mix of ARR is becoming more software-rich as we build our HPE GreenLake cloud, which is improving our margin profile. We will continue to invest aggressively in HPE GreenLake cloud services to provide a true cloud experience and operating model, whether at the edge, on-premises or across multiple clouds.
ARR represents the annualized revenue of all net HPE GreenLake cloud services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income from operating leases and interest income from finance leases), and software-as-a-service (“SaaS”), software consumption revenue, and other aaS offerings, recognized during a quarter and multiplied by four. We believe that ARR is a metric that allows management to better understand and highlight the potential future performance of our aaS business. We also believe ARR provides investors with greater transparency to our financial information and of the performance metric used in our financial and operational decision making and allows investors to see our results “through the eyes of management.” We use ARR as a performance metric. ARR should be viewed independently of net revenue and is not intended to be combined with it.
ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.
The following table presents our ARR:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| ARR | $ | 1,938 | $ | 1,304 | ||
| Year-over-year growth rate | 49 | % | 39 | % |
The 49% year over year increase in ARR was primarily due to growth in our Hybrid Cloud, Server and Intelligent Edge segments, which was due to an expanding customer installed base, an expanded range of HPE GreenLake Flex Solutions, Server aaS, and Intelligent Edge aaS activity.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Capital Returns to Shareholders
Returning capital to our shareholders remains an important part of our capital allocation framework, which also consists of strategic investments. We believe our existing balance of cash and cash equivalents, along with commercial paper and other short-term liquidity arrangements, are sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital asset purchases, dividends, debt repayments, and other liquidity requirements associated with our existing operations. As of October 31, 2024, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $15.1 billion, compared to $4.6 billion as of October 31, 2023, representing an increase of $10.5 billion.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), which requires us to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. A summary of significant accounting policies and a summary of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Note 1, “Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II. An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if the nature of the estimate or assumption it incorporates is subject to material level of judgment related to matters that are highly uncertain and changes in those estimates and assumptions are reasonably likely to materially impact our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.
We believe the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into contracts with customers that may include combinations of products and services, resulting in arrangements containing multiple performance obligations for hardware and software products and/or various services.
The majority of our revenue is derived from sales of products and services and the associated support and maintenance, and such revenue is recognized when, or as, control of promised products or services is transferred to the customer at the transaction price. Transaction price is adjusted for variable consideration which may be offered in contracts with customers, partners, and distributors and may include rebates, volume-based discounts, price protection, and other incentive programs.
Significant judgment is applied in determining the transaction price as we may be required to estimate variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition. When determining the amount of revenue to recognize, we estimate the expected usage of these programs, applying the expected value or most likely estimate and update the estimate at each reporting period as actual utilization becomes available. Variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur. We also consider the customers' right of return in determining the transaction price, where applicable.
To recognize revenue for the products and services for which control has been transferred, we allocate the transaction price for the contract among the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price (“SSP”) basis. For products and services sold as a bundle, the SSP is generally not directly observable and requires the Company to estimate SSP based on management judgment by considering available data such as internal margin objectives, pricing strategies, market/competitive conditions, historical profitability data, as well as other observable inputs. For certain products and services, the Company establishes SSP based on the observable price when sold separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. The Company establishes SSP ranges for its products and services and reassesses them periodically.
Taxes on Earnings
We calculate our current and deferred tax provisions based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the final positions reflected in our income tax returns. We adjust our current and deferred tax provisions based on our tax returns which are generally filed in the third or fourth quarters of the subsequent fiscal year.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which we expect the differences to reverse.
We record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that we are more likely than not to realize. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider future market growth, forecasted earnings, future sources of taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income, of the appropriate character, in the jurisdictions in which the deferred tax assets are located, prior to their expiration under applicable tax laws.
Our effective tax rate includes the impact of certain undistributed foreign earnings and basis differences for which we have not provided for U.S. federal taxes because we plan to reinvest such earnings and basis differences indefinitely outside the U.S. We will remit non-indefinitely reinvested earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which deferred U.S. state income and foreign withholding taxes have been provided where excess cash has accumulated and when we determine that it is advantageous for business operations, tax, or cash management reasons.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and approximately 80 other countries, and we are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in many of these jurisdictions. We believe that positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, which may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, our income tax provision includes amounts intended to satisfy assessments that may result from these challenges. Determining the income tax provision for these potential assessments and recording the related effects requires management judgments and estimates. The amounts ultimately paid on resolution of an audit could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our Provision for taxes, Net earnings and cash flows. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our international operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions and related interest, and uncertain tax positions from acquired companies. For further discussion on taxes on earnings, refer to Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Goodwill
We review goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. We are permitted to conduct a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test.
As of October 31, 2024, our reporting units with goodwill are consistent with the reportable segments identified in Note 2, “Segment Information” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, with the exception of Server, which contains two reporting units: Compute and High Performance Computing & AI (“HPC & AI”), and Corporate Investments and Other which contains two reporting units: Advisory and Professional Services, and legacy Communications and Media Solutions.
When performing the goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount. An impairment exists if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount.
Estimating the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a weighting of fair values derived mostly from the income approach and, to a lesser extent, the market approach. Under the income approach, the fair value of a reporting unit is based on discounted cash flow analysis of management's short-term and long-term forecast of operating performance. This analysis includes significant assumptions regarding revenue growth rates, expected operating margins, and timing of expected future cash flows based on market conditions and customer acceptances. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital of comparable public companies adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit's ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, the fair value is based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly traded companies with operating and investment characteristics similar to the reporting unit. We weight the fair value derived from the market approach commensurate with the level of comparability of these publicly traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using the income approach. In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Annual Goodwill Impairment Review
Our annual goodwill impairment analysis, which we performed as of the first day of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, did not result in any impairment charges. The excess of fair value over carrying amount for our reporting units ranged from approximately 8% to 198% of the respective carrying amounts. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the estimated fair value of our reporting units in the goodwill impairment test, we applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of each reporting unit. Based on the results of this hypothetical 10% decrease all of the reporting units had an excess of fair value over carrying amount, except for HPC & AI and Hybrid Cloud.
The HPC & AI reporting unit has goodwill of $2.0 billion as of October 31, 2024, and excess of fair value over carrying value of 11% as of the annual test date. The HPC & AI business is growing at a very fast pace driven primarily by the AI demand from model builders, but as GPUs represent a large portion of the solutions, the pricing is very competitive and margins are limited. With the growth of AI in enterprise and sovereign customer segments and key strategic differentiators, such as direct liquid cooling, we believe that there is a potential for continued growth over time.
Interim Goodwill Impairment Reviews
In September 2024, HPE sold 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C to UNIS. The equity investment in H3C primarily benefits the Compute and Hybrid Cloud reporting units. Subsequent to the sale, on September 30, 2024, we performed an interim goodwill impairment analysis for Compute and Hybrid Cloud reporting units. The excess of fair value over carrying amount for these reporting units was 6% for Compute and 5% for Hybrid Cloud. We also applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of Compute and Hybrid Cloud, noting that neither had an excess of fair value over carrying amount.
The Compute reporting unit has goodwill of $8.2 billion as of October 31, 2024, and excess of fair value over carrying value of 6% as of the September 30, 2024 interim test date. The Compute business is cyclical in nature. Over the last several years, digital transformation drove increased investment to modernize infrastructure. However, in the current macroeconomic and inflationary environment, customers have invested selectively resulting in moderate unit growth and competitive pricing. The Compute business continues to focus on capturing market share while maintaining operating margin, leveraging its strong portfolio of ProLiant Gen11 products.
The Hybrid Cloud reporting unit has goodwill of $4.8 billion as of October 31, 2024, and excess of fair value over carrying value of 5% as of the September 30, 2024 interim test date. Although the Hybrid Cloud business is on a positive trajectory, we are managing both a sales model transition and product transition within this business. Our product model transition is to a more cloud-native, software-defined platform with HPE Alletra. Translating this growth to revenue and operating income will take time because a greater mix of high margin business such as ratable software and services, is deferred and recognized in future periods.
Our interim 2024 goodwill impairment test performed as of November 1, 2023 based on organizational changes impacting the composition of reporting units as of that date did not result in any impairment charges.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Revenue from our international operations has historically represented, and we expect will continue to represent, a majority of our overall net revenue. As a result, our revenue growth has been impacted, and we expect will continue to be impacted, by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. In order to provide a framework for assessing performance excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, we present the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a constant currency basis, which assumes no change in foreign currency exchange rates from the prior-year period and does not adjust for any repricing or demand impacts from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. This change in revenue on a constant currency basis is calculated as the quotient of (a) current year revenue converted to U.S. dollars using the prior-year period's foreign currency exchange rates divided by (b) the prior-year period revenue. This information is provided so that revenue can be viewed without the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which is consistent with how management evaluates our revenue results and trends. This constant currency disclosure is provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a GAAP basis. Other companies may calculate and define similarly labeled items differently, which may limit the usefulness of this measure for comparative purposes.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 30,127 | 100.0 | % | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | $ | 28,496 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of sales (exclusive of amortization shown separately below) | 20,249 | 67.2 | % | 18,896 | 64.9 | % | 18,990 | 66.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 9,878 | 32.8 | % | 10,239 | 35.1 | % | 9,506 | 33.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 2,246 | 7.5 | % | 2,349 | 8.1 | % | 2,045 | 7.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 4,871 | 16.2 | % | 5,160 | 17.7 | % | 4,941 | 17.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 267 | 0.9 | % | 288 | 1.0 | % | 293 | 1.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | — | — | % | 905 | 3.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 93 | 0.3 | % | 283 | 1.0 | % | 473 | 1.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Disaster charges | 7 | — | % | 1 | — | % | 48 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 204 | 0.6 | % | 69 | 0.1 | % | 19 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from operations | 2,190 | 7.3 | % | 2,089 | 7.2 | % | 782 | 2.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest and other, net | (117) | (0.4) | % | (104) | (0.3) | % | (121) | (0.4) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain on sale of equity interest | 733 | 2.4 | % | — | 0.1 | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests | 147 | 0.5 | % | 245 | 0.8 | % | 215 | 0.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings before provision for taxes | 2,953 | 9.8 | % | 2,230 | 7.8 | % | 876 | 3.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Provision for taxes | (374) | (1.2) | % | (205) | (0.7) | % | (8) | (0.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Net earnings attributable to HPE | 2,579 | 8.6 | % | 2,025 | 7.0 | % | 868 | 3.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | (25) | (0.1) | % | — | — | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Net earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | 2,554 | 8.5 | % | $ | 2,025 | 7.0 | % | $ | 868 | 3.0 | % |
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
Net revenue
In fiscal 2024, total net revenue of $30.1 billion represented an increase of $992 million, or 3.4% (increased 3.3% on a constant currency basis). U.S. net revenue increased by $521 million, or 5.0% to $10.9 billion, and net revenue from outside of the U.S. increased by $471 million, or 2.5%, to $19.2 billion.
The components of the weighted net revenue change by segment were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Percentage Points | ||||
| Server | 6.4 | (3.9) | ||
| Hybrid Cloud | (0.4) | 0.9 | ||
| Intelligent Edge | (2.9) | 5.3 | ||
| Financial Services | 0.1 | 0.5 | ||
| Corporate Investments and Other | 0.1 | (0.1) | ||
| Total segment | 3.3 | 2.7 | ||
| Elimination of intersegment net revenue and other | 0.1 | (0.5) | ||
| Total HPE | 3.4 | 2.2 |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
From a segment perspective, the primary factors contributing to the change in total net revenue are summarized as follows:
•Server net revenue increased $1,844 million, or 12.8%, primarily due to higher AUPs
•Hybrid Cloud net revenue decreased $107 million, or 1.9%, primarily due to lower AUPs
•Intelligent Edge net revenue decreased $847 million, or 15.7%, primarily due to lower volume and product mix effect
•Financial Services net revenue increased $32 million, or 0.9%, primarily due to higher finance income
•Corporate Investments and Other net revenue increased $29 million, or 2.9%, primarily due to revenue growth from Advisory and Professional Services (“A & PS”)
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
From a segment perspective, the primary factors contributing to the change in total net revenue are summarized as follows:
•Server net revenue decreased $1,111 million, or 7.2%, primarily due to lower server unit volume and unfavorable currency fluctuations
•Hybrid Cloud net revenue increased $260 million, or 5.0%, primarily due to higher unit volume
•Intelligent Edge net revenue increased $1,522 million, or 39.5%, primarily due to increased AUPs and volume and product mix effect
•Financial Services net revenue increased $141 million, or 4.2%, primarily due to higher rental revenue from higher average operating leases and higher finance income on finance leases due to an increasing interest rate environment
•Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased $27 million, or 2.7%, primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations
Gross Profit
Fiscal 2024 total gross profit margin of 32.8% represents a decrease of 2.3 percentage points as compared to the respective prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to decline in revenue in the Intelligent Edge segment and higher mix of lower margin products in the Server segment.
Operating expenses
Research and development (“R&D”)
R&D expense decreased by $103 million, or 4.4%, primarily due to capitalization of software costs, which contributed 4.2 percentage points to the change.
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”)
SG&A expense decreased by $289 million, or 5.6%, primarily due to lower employee costs, which contributed 3.3 percentage points, lower travel and marketing expenses and lower consulting costs, both of which contributed 1.4 percentage points to the change.
Transformation programs and costs
Our transformation programs consist of the Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan (launched in 2020) and the HPE Next Plan (launched in 2017).
Transformation costs decreased by $190 million, or 67.1%, due to lower charges incurred in the current period as the primary elements of these plans have been substantially completed by the end of fiscal 2023. Refer to Note 3, “Transformation Programs” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II for further discussion.
Acquisition, disposition and other related charges
Acquisition, disposition and other related charges increased by $135 million or 195.7%, primarily due to costs incurred in connection with the pending acquisition of Juniper Networks.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Interest and other, net
Interest and other, net expense increased by $13 million or 12.5%, primarily due to lower gain from sale of certain investments and unfavorable currency fluctuations in the current year and the previous year containing tax indemnification income due to an audit settlement. The increase was partially offset by a decrease in net interest expense and lower loss on equity investments in the current year.
Gain on sale of equity interest
On September 4, 2024, the Company divested 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C to UNIS. We continue to possess the option to sell the remaining 19% of the total issued share capital of H3C at a later date. In connection with this sale, we recorded a gain on sale of equity interest of $733 million.
Earnings from equity interests
In fiscal 2024, Earnings from equity interests decreased by $98 million or 40%, primarily due to lower net income earned by H3C and the disposition of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C, partially offset by lower amortization expense from basis difference in the current period.
Provision for taxes
For fiscal 2024 and 2023, we recorded income tax expense of $374 million and $205 million, respectively, which reflect effective tax rates of 12.7% and 9.2%, respectively. Our effective tax rate generally differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from our operations in lower tax jurisdictions throughout the world but may also be materially impacted by discrete tax adjustments during the fiscal year. The jurisdictions with favorable tax rates that had the most significant impact on our effective tax rate in the periods presented include Puerto Rico and Singapore.
In fiscal 2024, we recorded $43 million of net income tax charges related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$104 million of net income tax charges resulting from the gain on the H3C divestiture, which includes $215 million of U.S. and foreign income tax charges offset by $111 million of income tax benefit for the release of an uncertain tax benefit related to the prior divestiture, partially offset by
•$54 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs, and acquisition, disposition and other related charges and
•$11 million of net excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.
In fiscal 2023, we recorded $131 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$104 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges and
•$19 million of net excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.
Segment Information
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's organizational structure is based on a number of factors that the Chief Operating Decision Maker, who is the CEO, uses to evaluate, view, and run our business operations, which include, but are not limited to, customer base and homogeneity of products and technology. The segments are based on this organizational structure and information reviewed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's management to evaluate segment results.
A description of the products and services for each segment, along with other pertinent information related to Segments can be found in Note 2, “Segment Information,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Segment Results
The following provides an overview of our key financial metrics by segment for fiscal 2024 as compared to fiscal 2023:
| HPE Consolidated | Server | Hybrid Cloud | Intelligent Edge | Financial Services | CorporateInvestments and Other | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue(1) | $ | 30,127 | $ | 16,205 | $ | 5,386 | $ | 4,532 | $ | 3,512 | $ | 1,014 | |||||||
| Year-over-year change % | 3.4% | 12.8% | (1.9)% | (15.7)% | 0.9% | 2.9% | |||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations(2) | $ | 2,190 | $ | 1,818 | $ | 245 | $ | 1,115 | $ | 316 | $ | (25) | |||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations as a % of net revenue | 7.3% | 11.2% | 4.5% | 24.6% | 9.0% | (2.5)% | |||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change percentage points | 0.1 | pts | (1.5) | pts | 0.3 | pts | (0.4) | pts | 0.9 | pts | 5.3 | pts |
(1)HPE consolidated net revenue excludes inter-segment net revenue.
(2)Segment earnings from operations exclude certain unallocated corporate costs and eliminations, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges, divestiture related exit costs, and acquisition, disposition and other related charges.
Server
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 vs 2023% Change | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 16,205 | $ | 14,361 | $ | 15,472 | 12.8 | % | (7.2) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,818 | $ | 1,830 | $ | 1,958 | (0.7) | % | (6.5) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 11.2 | % | 12.7 | % | 12.7 | % |
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
Server net revenue increased by $1,844 million, or 12.8% in actual dollars and constant currency, primarily due to a $1,812 million, or 16.7%, increase in product revenue. The increase in product revenue was primarily due to higher AUPs of $1,769 million, or 16.3%.
Server earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 1.5 percentage points primarily due to an increase in costs of products as a percentage of net revenue, moderated by a decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in costs of products as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to higher mix of lower margin products and competitive pricing pressure. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to lower total operating expenses as a result of cost containment measures.
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Server net revenue decreased by $1,111 million, or 7.2% (decreased 3.5% on a constant currency basis), primarily due to a $1,061 million, or 8.9%, decrease in product revenue. The decline in product revenue was primarily due to lower server unit volume of $1,281 million, or 10.7%, and unfavorable currency fluctuations of $458 million, or 3.8%. The product revenue decline was moderated by an increase in AUPs of $683 million, or 5.7%, led by higher sales of server configurations with more complex component architectures in our next generation products.
Server earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue remained relatively flat.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Hybrid Cloud
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 vs 2023 % Change | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 5,386 | $ | 5,493 | $ | 5,233 | (1.9) | % | 5.0 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 245 | $ | 232 | $ | 468 | 5.6 | % | (50.4) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 4.5 | % | 4.2 | % | 8.9 | % |
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
Hybrid Cloud net revenue decreased by $107 million, or 1.9% (decreased 2.0% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to a decrease in AUPs, partially offset by an increase in unit volume. Hybrid Cloud product revenue decreased $267 million, or 8.1%, primarily due to a decrease in AUPs of $831 million, or 25.2%, led by private cloud and storage products, partially offset by a unit volume increase of $543 million or 16.5%, led by private cloud and storage products. Hybrid Cloud services revenue increased by $160 million, or 7.3%, primarily due to a unit volume increase of $275 million, or 12.5%, led by private cloud and infrastructure SaaS. This increase was partially offset by lower AUPs of $107 million, or 4.9%.
Hybrid Cloud earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue remained relatively flat as compared to the prior-year period.
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Hybrid Cloud net revenue increased by $260 million, or 5.0% (increased 8.2% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to an increase in unit volume, partially offset by unfavorable currency fluctuations and decrease in AUPs. Hybrid Cloud product revenue increased by $180 million, or 5.8%, primarily due to an increase in unit volume of $371 million or 11.9%, led by private cloud and infrastructure SaaS. The increase in product revenue was moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations of $130 million or 4.2%, and a decrease in AUPs of $39 million or 1.3%. Hybrid Cloud services revenue increased by $80 million, or 3.8%, primarily due to a unit volume increase of $178 million, or 8.4%, led by private cloud and infrastructure SaaS. The increase in service revenue was partially offset by decrease in AUPs of $43 million or 2.0% and unfavorable currency fluctuations of $40 million or 1.9%.
Hybrid Cloud earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 4.7 percentage points due to an increase in cost of products sold as a percentage of net revenue and an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to lower margin GreenLake Flex Solutions deals and decrease in storage subscription revenue. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to the unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Intelligent Edge
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 vs 2023 % Change | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 4,532 | $ | 5,379 | $ | 3,857 | (15.7) | % | 39.5 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,115 | $ | 1,343 | $ | 542 | (17.0) | % | 147.8 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 24.6 | % | 25.0 | % | 14.1 | % |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
Intelligent Edge net revenue decreased by $847 million, or 15.7% (decreased 15.9% on a constant currency basis). Product revenue decreased by $1,050 million, or 23.9%, led by lower volume and product mix effect of $876 million, or 19.9%, and lower AUPs of $183 million, or 4.2%. The product revenue decrease was led by switching products and wireless local area network products due to softened demand. Services net revenue increased $203 million, or 20.6%, primarily led by our aaS and attached support service offerings.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 0.4 percentage points primarily due to increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue, partially offset by a decrease in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue. Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue increased primarily due to scale of net revenue decline, higher employee costs related to acquisitions and investments to enhance Aruba offerings in GreenLake. The decrease in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to favorable revenue mix and cost containment measures.
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Intelligent Edge net revenue increased by $1,522 million, or 39.5% (increased 42.5% on a constant currency basis). Product revenue increased by $1,396 million, or 46.5%, led by higher AUPs of $1,284 million, or 42.8%, and a volume and product mix effect of $217 million, or 7.2%, moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations of $106 million, or 3.5%. The product revenue increase was led by switching and wireless local area network products, which benefited from improvements in the supply availability, and elevated order book levels at the beginning of the period. Services net revenue increased $127 million, or 14.8%, primarily led by our aaS and attached support service offerings.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 10.9 percentage points primarily due to decreases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to lower supply chain costs, moderating the decrease was a lower mix of higher-margin support services revenue. Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue decreased primarily due to our cost containment measures.
Financial Services
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 vs 2023 % Change | 2023 vs 2022% Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,512 | $ | 3,480 | $ | 3,339 | 0.9 | % | 4.2 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 316 | $ | 281 | $ | 387 | 12.5 | % | (27.4) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 9.0 | % | 8.1 | % | 11.6 | % |
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
FS net revenue increased by $32 million, or 0.9% (increased 0.6% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to higher finance income from higher average finance leases in a higher interest rate environment, along with favorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by lower rental revenue on lower average operating leases and lower asset management lease buyout revenue.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 0.9 percentage points, although the cost of services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue were relatively flat.
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
FS net revenue increased by $141 million, or 4.2% (increased 5.4% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to higher rental revenue from higher average operating leases and higher finance income on finance leases due to an increasing interest rate environment, partially offset by lower asset management revenue primarily from lower pre-owned asset sales and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 3.5% percentage points due primarily to an increase in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue, while operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue were
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
relatively flat. The increase to cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulted primarily from a combination of higher borrowing costs and higher depreciation expense, partially offset by lower bad debt expense.
Financing Volume
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Financing volume | $ | 6,616 | $ | 6,412 | $ | 6,252 |
Financing volume, which represents the amount of financing provided to customers for equipment and related software and services, including intercompany activity, increased by 3.2% in fiscal 2024 as compared to the prior-year period. The increase was primarily driven by higher financing of HPE product sales and services, partially offset by lower financing of third-party product sales and services.
Portfolio Assets and Ratios
The FS business model is asset intensive and uses certain internal metrics to measure its performance against other financial services companies, including a segment balance sheet that is derived from our internal management reporting system. The accounting policies used to derive FS amounts are substantially the same as those used by the Company. However, intercompany loans and certain accounts that are reflected in the segment balances are eliminated in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The portfolio assets and ratios derived from the segment balance sheets for FS were as follows:
| As of October 31 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| Financing receivables, gross | $ | 9,647 | $ | 8,814 | ||
| Net equipment under operating leases | 3,632 | 4,100 | ||||
| Capitalized profit on intercompany equipment transactions(1) | 396 | 263 | ||||
| Intercompany leases(1) | 119 | 109 | ||||
| Gross portfolio assets | 13,794 | 13,286 | ||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts(2) | 177 | 178 | ||||
| Operating lease equipment reserve | 30 | 36 | ||||
| Total reserves | 207 | 214 | ||||
| Net portfolio assets | $ | 13,587 | $ | 13,072 | ||
| Reserve coverage | 1.5 | % | 1.6 | % | ||
| Debt-to-equity ratio(3) | 7.0x | 7.0x |
(1)Intercompany activity is eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Allowance for credit losses for financing receivables includes both the short- and long-term portions.
(3)Debt benefiting FS consists of intercompany equity that is treated as debt for segment reporting purposes, intercompany debt, and borrowing- and funding-related activity associated with FS and its subsidiaries. Debt benefiting FS totaled $11.8 billion and $11.6 billion at October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and was determined by applying an assumed debt-to-equity ratio, which management believes to be comparable to that of other similar financing companies. FS equity at October 31, 2024 and 2023, was $1.7 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.
As of October 31, 2024 and 2023, FS net cash and cash equivalents balances were $533 million and $700 million, respectively.
Net portfolio assets as of October 31, 2024 increased 3.9% from October 31, 2023. The increase generally resulted from new financing volume exceeding portfolio runoff during the period, along with favorable currency fluctuations.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
FS bad debt expense includes charges to general reserves, specific reserves and write-offs for sales-type, direct-financing and operating leases. FS recorded net bad debt expense of $57 million, $59 million and $82 million in fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Corporate Investments and Other
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 vs 2023 % Change | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 1,014 | $ | 985 | $ | 1,012 | 2.9 | % | (2.7) | % | |||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (25) | $ | (77) | $ | (26) | 67.5 | % | (196.2) | % | |||||||
| Loss from operations as a % of net revenue | (2.5) | % | (7.8) | % | (2.6) | % |
Fiscal 2024 compared with fiscal 2023
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue increased by $29 million, or 2.9% (increased 4.3% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to revenue growth from A & PS, partially offset by unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 5.3 percentage points primarily due to decreases in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulting from our cost containment measures, and decreases in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue due to the scale of net revenue growth and lower total operating expenses.
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased by $27 million, or 2.7% (increased 2.1% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 5.2 percentage points primarily due to increases in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue while operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue remained relatively flat. Cost of services as a percentage of net revenue increased primarily due to the scale of net revenue decline and increases in cost of services due to unfavorable currency fluctuations and higher expenses.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Overview
We use cash generated by operations as our primary source of liquidity. We believe that internally generated cash flows will be generally sufficient to support our operating businesses, capital expenditures, product development initiatives, acquisitions and disposal activities including legal settlements, restructuring activities, transformation costs, indemnifications, maturing debt, interest payments, and income tax payments, in addition to any future investments, share repurchases, and shareholder dividend payments. We expect to supplement this short-term liquidity, if necessary, by accessing the capital markets, issuing commercial paper, and borrowing under credit facilities made available by various domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, our access to capital markets may be constrained and our cost of borrowing may increase under certain business, market and economic conditions. We anticipate that the funds made available, including the debt funding related to the pending merger with Juniper Networks, proceeds from issuance of the Preferred Stock and proceeds from the sale of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C, and cash generated from our operations, along with our access to capital markets, will be sufficient to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve months (including for the payment of consideration to consummate the Juniper Networks transaction) and for the foreseeable future thereafter. Our liquidity is subject to various risks including the risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A and market risks identified in the section entitled “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in Item 7A.
Our cash balances are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with a substantial amount held in the U.S. as of October 31, 2024. We utilize a variety of planning and financing strategies in an effort to ensure that our worldwide cash is available when and where it is needed.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support our non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations of amounts held outside the U.S. generally will not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective, but may be subject to state income or
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through ongoing cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition, or results of operations.
In connection with the share repurchase program previously authorized by our Board of Directors, during fiscal 2024, we repurchased and settled an aggregate amount of $150 million. As of October 31, 2024, we had a remaining authorization of approximately $0.8 billion for future share repurchases. For more information on our share repurchase program, refer to Note 15, “Stockholders' Equity,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
On May 23, 2024, we announced plans to divest our Communications Technology Group (“CTG”) business to HCLTech. CTG is included in our Communications and Media Solutions business, which is reported in the Corporate Investments and Other segment. This divestiture includes the platform-based software solutions portions of the CTG portfolio, including systems integration, network applications, data intelligence, and the business support systems groups. As of October 31, 2024, assets and liabilities to be sold have been presented in our Consolidated Balance Sheets as assets and liabilities held for sale. On December 1, 2024, we completed the disposition of CTG. We received net proceeds of $210 million and expect to recognize a gain of approximately $230 million.
On January 9, 2024, we entered into the Merger Agreement, under which HPE will acquire Juniper Networks in an all-cash transaction for $40.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. On April 2, 2024, Juniper Networks shareholders approved the transaction. The closing of the transaction remains subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. In connection with the merger, we entered into a commitment letter whereby we obtained a commitment from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. for a $14.0 billion senior unsecured delayed draw term loan facility, comprised of an $11.0 billion 364-day tranche and a $3.0 billion three-year tranche, subject to customary conditions (the “Term Loan Commitment Letter”). In September 2024, we issued $9.0 billion of senior unsecured notes and $1.5 billion of Preferred Stock, the net proceeds of which we intend to use to fund a portion of the consideration for the acquisition of Juniper Networks and for other general corporate purposes, which may include, among other uses, repaying certain indebtedness of HPE, Juniper Networks and our and its respective subsidiaries. In addition, in furtherance of the Term Loan Commitment Letter, we entered into term loan agreements with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A, Citibank, N.A., and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. for approximately $12.0 billion of senior unsecured delayed draw term loan facilities, comprised of an approximately $9.0 billion 364-day tranche (which was reduced from the original commitment of $11.0 billion, upon receipt and application of approximately $2.0 billion in post-tax proceeds from our sale to UNIS of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C, as further described below) and a $3.0 billion three-year tranche, subject to customary conditions. We have since further reduced the commitments under the 364-day term loan to $1.0 billion upon receipt and application of certain proceeds from the aforementioned issuance of senior unsecured notes and the Preferred Stock. Unless previously terminated, commitments under both the 364-day term loan and the three-year term loan will terminate upon the earliest of (i) five business days after the Juniper Outside Date (as defined in such term loan agreements), (ii) the occurrence of the closing of the acquisition of Juniper Networks without the funding of any borrowings under either of the term loan agreements, and (iii) the termination of the Merger Agreement by HPE in writing in accordance with its terms. In connection with the entry into the aforementioned 364-day term loan and the three-year term loan, on September 12, 2024, we terminated the Term Loan Commitment Letter.
In September 2024, we issued 30 million shares of the Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $1.5 billion, less issuance costs of $38 million. As of October 31, 2024, 30 million shares of the Preferred Stock was outstanding. We intend to use these net proceeds as indicated above. For more information on our Preferred Stock, refer to Note 15, “Stockholders' Equity,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Pursuant to the Shareholders' Agreement among our relevant subsidiaries, UNIS, and H3C dated as of May 1, 2016, as amended from time to time, and most recently on October 28, 2022, we delivered a notice to UNIS on December 30, 2022, to exercise our right to put to UNIS, for cash consideration, all of the H3C shares held by us, which represent 49% of the total issued share capital of H3C. On May 26, 2023, our relevant subsidiaries entered into a Put Share Purchase Agreement with UNIS, whereby UNIS has agreed to purchase all of the H3C shares held by us, through our subsidiaries. On May 24, 2024, our relevant subsidiaries entered into (i) an Amended and Restated Put Share Purchase Agreement with UNIS, whereby our relevant subsidiaries shall sell to UNIS 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C for pre-tax cash consideration of approximately $2.1 billion by August 31, 2024 (the “Sale Transaction”), and (ii) an Agreement on Subsequent Arrangements with UNIS, whereby upon closing of the Sale Transaction, our relevant subsidiary shall have a put option to sell to UNIS and
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
UNIS shall have a call option to purchase from our relevant subsidiary 19% of the total issued share capital of H3C for pre-tax cash consideration of approximately $1.4 billion between the 16th month and until the 36th month after the Sale Transaction. The transactions referenced in clauses (i) and (ii) above, taken together, revise the arrangements governing the aforementioned sale of all of the H3C shares held by us, through our subsidiaries and are subject to certain grace periods and regulatory approvals. On September 4, 2024, pursuant to the Amended and Restated Put Share Purchase Agreement with UNIS, we received $2.1 billion of pre-tax consideration ($2.0 billion post-tax), in connection with the sale to UNIS of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C.
Liquidity
Our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, total debt and available borrowing resources were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 15,105 | $ | 4,581 | $ | 4,763 | ||||
| Total debt | 18,246 | 12,355 | 12,465 | |||||||
| Available borrowing resources(1) | 6,009 | 6,588 | 6,161 | |||||||
| Commercial paper programs(2) | 5,101 | 5,071 | 5,208 | |||||||
| Uncommitted lines of credit(3) | $ | 908 | $ | 1,517 | $ | 953 |
(1)Excludes the financing commitment for the Juniper Networks acquisition. The maximum aggregate commitment under this facility is $4.0 billion, however, no balances were outstanding under this facility as of October 31, 2024.
(2) The maximum aggregate borrowing amount of the commercial paper programs and revolving credit facility is $5.75 billion.
(3) The maximum aggregate capacity under the uncommitted lines of credit is $1.5 billion of which $0.6 billion was primarily utilized towards issuances of bank guarantees.
The following tables represent the way in which management reviews cash flows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,341 | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,593 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (53) | (3,284) | (2,087) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 6,283 | (1,362) | (1,796) | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (47) | 36 | (279) | |||||||
| Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 10,524 | $ | (182) | $ | 431 | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 2,297 | $ | 2,238 | $ | 1,794 |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $87 million for fiscal 2024, as compared to fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily due to higher cash payouts for variable compensation, unfavorable impacts from financing receivables, and lower cash generated from operations. The decrease was moderated by favorable working capital, as compared to the prior-year period.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our working capital metrics and cash conversion impacts were as follows:
| As of October 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable (“DSO”) | 38 | 43 | 47 | ||||
| Days of supply in inventory (“DOS”) | 120 | 87 | 88 | ||||
| Days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable (“DPO”) | (170) | (134) | (149) | ||||
| Cash conversion cycle | (12) | (4) | (14) |
The cash conversion cycle is the sum of DSO and DOS less DPO. Items which may cause the cash conversion cycle in a particular period to differ include, but are not limited to, changes in business mix, changes in payment terms (including extended payment terms to customers or from suppliers), early or late invoice payments from customers or to suppliers, the extent of receivables factoring, seasonal trends, the timing of the revenue recognition and inventory purchases within the period, the impact of commodity costs and acquisition activity.
DSO measures the average number of days our receivables are outstanding. DSO is calculated by dividing ending accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, by a 90-day average of net revenue. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2023, the decrease in DSO by 5 days in the current period was primarily due to higher early collections.
DOS measures the average number of days from procurement to sale of our products. DOS is calculated by dividing ending inventory by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2023, the increase in DOS by 33 days in the current period was primarily due to higher inventory levels caused by strategic purchases of key components to support growth in AI systems.
DPO measures the average number of days our accounts payable balances are outstanding. DPO is calculated by dividing ending accounts payable by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period in fiscal 2023, the increase in DPO by 36 days in the current period was primarily due to higher inventory purchases.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $3.2 billion in fiscal 2024, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily due to proceeds from UNIS in connection with the sale of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C of $2.1 billion, lower net payments made in connection with business acquisitions of $0.6 billion, lower cash utilized in net financial collateral activities of $0.2 billion, and lower investments in property, plant and equipment and software assets, net of sales proceeds of $0.2 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities increased by $7.6 billion in fiscal 2024, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2023. This was primarily due to higher proceeds from debt issuance (net of issuance costs) of $6.5 billion, proceeds from the issuance of the Preferred Stock (net of issuance costs) of $1.5 billion, and lower share repurchases of $0.3 billion, partially offset by higher repayments of debt of $0.6 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow (“FCF”) represents cash flow from operations less net capital expenditures (investments in property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) and software assets less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF increased by $0.1 billion, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2023. This was primarily due to lower net capital expenditures, as compared to the prior-year period. For more information on our FCF, refer to the section entitled “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A.
For more information on the impact of operating assets and liabilities to our cash flows, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Capital Resources
Debt Levels
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Short-term debt | $ | 4,742 | $ | 4,868 | $ | 4,612 | ||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 13,504 | $ | 7,487 | $ | 7,853 | ||||
| Weighted-average interest rate | 5.4 | % | 5.4 | % | 4.0 | % |
We maintain debt levels that we establish through consideration of several factors, including cash flow expectations, cash requirements for operations, investment plans (including acquisitions), share repurchase activities, our cost of capital, and targeted capital structure. We maintain a revolving credit facility and two commercial paper programs, “the Parent Programs”, and a wholly-owned subsidiary maintains a third program. In September 2024, we terminated the prior senior unsecured revolving credit facility that was entered into in December 2021, and entered into a new senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an aggregate lending commitment of $5.25 billion for a period of five years. The commitment is comprised of (i) $4.75 billion of commitments available immediately and (ii) $500 million of commitments available from and subject to the closing of the Juniper Networks acquisition and refinancing of Juniper Networks’ credit agreement in connection with the closing of the Juniper Networks acquisition. There have been no changes to our commercial paper programs since October 31, 2023.
As noted above, we are also party to two senior unsecured delayed draw term loan facilities, comprised of a $1.0 billion 364-day tranche and a $3.0 billion three-year tranche, subject to customary conditions. Unless previously terminated, commitments under both the 364-day term loan and the three-year term loan will terminate upon the earliest of (i) five business days after the Juniper Outside Date (as defined in such term loan agreements), (ii) the occurrence of the closing of the acquisition of Juniper Networks without the funding of any borrowings under either of the term loan agreements, and (iii) the termination of the Merger Agreement by HPE in writing in accordance with its terms.
In December 2023, we filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows us to sell, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depository shares, purchase contracts, guarantees or units consisting of any of these securities.
Significant funding and liquidity activities for fiscal 2024 were as follows:
Debt Issuances:
•In September 2024, we issued (i) $1.25 billion of 4.45% Senior Notes due September 25, 2026, (ii) $1.25 billion of 4.40% Senior Notes due September 25, 2027, (iii) $1.75 billion of 4.55% Senior Notes due October 15, 2029, (iv) $1.25 billion of 4.85% Senior Notes due October 15, 2031, (v) $2.0 billion of 5.00% Senior Notes due October 15, 2034, and (vi) $1.5 billion of 5.60% Senior Notes due October 15, 2054.
•In June 2024, we issued $818 million of asset-backed debt securities in six tranches with a weighted average interest rate of 5.593% and final maturity date of April 2032.
•In January 2024, we issued $796 million of asset-backed debt securities in six tranches with a weighted average interest rate of 5.476% and final maturity date of November 2031.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Debt Repayments:
•In October 2024, we redeemed $400 million of 6.102% Senior Notes with an original maturity date of April 1, 2026, utilizing the par call option on the debt, with no redemption penalties.
•In October 2024, we repaid $1.6 billion of 5.90% Senior Notes on their original maturity date.
•In April 2024, we repaid $1.0 billion of 1.45% Senior Notes on their original maturity date.
•During fiscal 2024, we repaid $1,691 million of the outstanding asset-backed debt securities.
Our weighted-average interest rate reflects the average effective rate on our borrowings prevailing during the period and reflects the impact of interest rate swaps. For more information on our interest rate swaps, see Note 13, “Financial Instruments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
For more information on our available borrowing resources and the impact of operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” and Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Cash Requirements and Commitments
Long-term debt and interest payments on debt
As of October 31, 2024, future principal payment obligations on our long-term debt including asset-backed debt securities totaled $17.6 billion of which $4.0 billion is due within one year. As of October 31, 2024, our finance lease obligations, including interest, was $42 million, of which $7 million is to be due within one year. For more information on our debt, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
As of October 31, 2024, future interest payments relating to our long-term debt is estimated to be approximately $7.6 billion, of which $0.9 billion is expected to be due within one year. We use interest rate swaps to mitigate the exposure of our fixed rate debt to changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates, or hedge the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with our variable-rate debt. The impact of our outstanding interest rate swaps as of October 31, 2024 was factored into the calculation of the future interest payments on long-term debt.
Operating lease obligations
We enter into various leases as a lessee for assets including office buildings, data centers, vehicles, and aviation. As of October 31, 2024, operating lease obligations, net of sublease rental income totaled $1.7 billion, of which $286 million is due within one year. For more information on our leases, see Note 8, “Accounting for Leases as a Lessee,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Unconditional purchase obligations
Our unconditional purchase obligations are related principally to inventory purchases, software maintenance and support services and other items. Unconditional purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancellable without penalty. As of October 31, 2024, unconditional purchase obligations totaled $1.3 billion, of which $556 million is due within one year. For more information on our unconditional purchase obligations, see Note 17, “Litigation, Contingencies, and Commitments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Retirement Benefit Plan Funding
In fiscal 2024, we anticipate making contributions of $189 million to our non-U.S. pension plans. Our policy is to fund pension plans to meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by various authorities including local government and taxing authorities. Expected contributions and payments to our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are not considered as contractual obligations because they do not represent contractual cash outflows, as they are dependent on numerous factors which may result in a wide range of outcomes. For more information on our retirement and post-retirement benefit plans, see Note 4, “Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Restructuring Plans
As of October 31, 2024, we expect future cash payments of approximately $185 million in connection with our approved restructuring plans, which includes $80 million expected to be paid in fiscal 2025 and $105 million expected to be paid thereafter. Payments for restructuring activities are not considered as contractual obligations, because they do not represent contractual cash outflows and there is uncertainty as to the timing of these payments. For more information on our restructuring activities, see Note 3, “Transformation Programs,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Uncertain Tax Positions
As of October 31, 2024, we had approximately $186 million of recorded liabilities and related interest and penalties pertaining to uncertain tax positions that could result in a cash payment. These liabilities and related interest and penalties include $2 million expected to be paid within one year. For the remaining amount, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate as to when cash settlement with the tax authorities might occur due to the uncertainties related to these tax matters. Payments of these obligations would result from settlements with taxing authorities. For more information on our uncertain tax positions, see Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we have not participated in transactions that generate material relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
We have third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for the periods presented:
Reconciliation of GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin to non-GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP net revenue | $ | 30,127 | 100.0 | % | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | |||||
| GAAP cost of sales | 20,249 | 67.2 | % | 18,896 | 64.9 | % | |||||||
| GAAP gross profit | 9,878 | 32.8 | % | 10,239 | 35.1 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | |||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 49 | 0.1 | % | 47 | 0.2 | % | |||||||
| Disaster recovery | (43) | (0.1) | % | (13) | — | % | |||||||
| Divestiture related exit costs | 9 | — | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,893 | 32.8 | % | $ | 10,273 | 35.3 | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin to non-GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 2,190 | 7.3 | % | $ | 2,089 | 7.2 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 267 | 0.9 | % | 288 | 1.0 | % | |||||||
| Transformation costs | 93 | 0.3 | % | 283 | 1.0 | % | |||||||
| Disaster recovery | (51) | (0.2) | % | (12) | — | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 430 | 1.4 | % | 428 | 1.5 | % | |||||||
| Divestiture related exit costs | 35 | 0.1 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 204 | 0.7 | % | 69 | 0.2 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,168 | 10.5 | % | $ | 3,145 | 10.8 | % |
Reconciliation of GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share to non-GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE | $ | 2,579 | $ | 1.93 | $ | 2,025 | $ | 1.54 | ||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 267 | 0.20 | 288 | 0.22 | ||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 93 | 0.07 | 283 | 0.22 | ||||||||||
| Disaster recovery | (51) | (0.04) | (12) | (0.01) | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 430 | 0.32 | 428 | 0.33 | ||||||||||
| Divestiture related exit costs | 35 | 0.03 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 204 | 0.16 | 69 | 0.05 | ||||||||||
| Gain on sale of equity interest | (733) | (0.55) | — | — | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for equity interests | (107) | (0.08) | 18 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Loss on equity investments, net | 13 | 0.01 | 40 | 0.03 | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for taxes | (95) | (0.07) | (255) | (0.20) | ||||||||||
| Other adjustments(1) | 20 | 0.01 | (52) | (0.04) | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to HPE(2) | 2,655 | 1.99 | 2,832 | 2.15 | ||||||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | (25) | — | ||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders | $ | 2,630 | $ | 2,832 |
(1) Other adjustments includes non-service net periodic benefit cost and tax indemnification and other adjustments.
(2) For purposes of calculating Non-GAAP diluted net EPS, the preferred stock dividends are added back to the Non-GAAP net earnings attributable to common stockholders and the diluted weighted average share calculation assumes the preferred stock was converted at issuance or as of the beginning of the reporting period.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,341 | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,593 | ||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment and software assets | (2,367) | (2,828) | (3,122) | |||||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 370 | 602 | 602 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (47) | 36 | (279) | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 2,297 | $ | 2,238 | $ | 1,794 |
Use of non-GAAP Financial Measures
The non-GAAP financial measures presented are net revenue on a constant currency basis (including at the business segment level), non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue), non-GAAP tax rate, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, and FCF. These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to net revenue on a constant currency basis is net revenue. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit margin is gross profit margin. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP earnings from operations is earnings from operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) is operating profit margin (earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue). The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP income tax rate is income tax rate. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings is net earnings. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share is diluted net earnings per share. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to FCF is cash flow from operations.
We believe that providing the non-GAAP measures stated above, in addition to the related GAAP measures provides greater transparency to the information used in our financial and operational decision making and allows the reader of our Consolidated Financial Statements to see our financial results “through the eyes” of management. We further believe that providing this information provides investors with a supplemental view to understand our historical and prospective operating performance and to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by management to evaluate and measure such performance. Disclosure of these non-GAAP financial measures also facilitates comparisons of our operating performance with the performance of other companies in the same industry that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated in a similar manner.
Economic Substance of non-GAAP Financial Measures
Net revenue on a constant currency basis assumes no change to the foreign exchange rate utilized in the comparable prior-year period. This measure assists investors with evaluating our past and future performance, without the impact of foreign exchange rates, as more than half of our revenue is generated outside of the U.S. We believe that excluding the items mentioned below from the non-GAAP financial measures provides a supplemental view to management and our investors of our consolidated financial performance and presents the financial results of the business without costs that we do not believe to be reflective of our ongoing operating results. Exclusion of these items can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP measure and cash flows thus limiting the use of such non-GAAP financial measures as analytic tools. See “Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below for further information.
Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross profit margin are defined to exclude charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, stock-based compensation expense, and disaster charges. See below for the reasons management excludes each item:
•Stock-based compensation expense consists of equity awards granted based on the estimated fair value of those awards at grant date. Although stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to our employees, we exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are non-cash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding stock-based compensation expense.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
•Disaster recoveries include direct costs or recovery of these costs related to the exit of the Company’s businesses in Russia and Belarus. Hewlett Packard Enterprise excludes disaster recoveries from these non-GAAP measures as the specific net recoveries are non-recurring charges and not indicative of the operational performance of our business.
•Divestiture related exit costs include expenses associated with certain disposal activities. On May 23, 2024, HPE announced plans to divest the Company’s CTG business, which was completed on December 1, 2024. We consider this divestiture to be a discrete event. We exclude these costs as these expenses are non-recurring exit costs to eliminate stranded costs of this business. In addition, our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding these charges.
Non-GAAP earnings from operations and non-GAAP operating profit margin consist of earnings from operations or earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue excluding the items mentioned above and charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets, transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges. In addition to the items previously explained above, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
•We incur charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets and exclude these charges for purposes of calculating these non-GAAP measures. Such charges are significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisitions. We exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are noncash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding intangible asset amortization. Although this does not directly affect our cash position, the loss in value of intangible assets over time can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
•Transformation costs represent net costs related to the (i) HPE Next Plan and (ii) Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan and include restructuring charges, program design and execution costs, costs incurred to transform our IT infrastructure, net gains from the sale of real estate and any impairment charges on real estate identified as part of the initiatives. We exclude these costs as they are discrete costs related to two specific transformation programs that were announced in 2017 and 2020, respectively, as multi-year programs necessary to transform the business and IT infrastructure following material divestiture transactions in 2017 and in response to COVID-19 and an evolving product portfolio in fiscal 2020. The primary elements of the HPE Next and the Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan have been substantially completed by October 31, 2023. The exclusion of the transformation program costs from our non-GAAP financial measures as stated above is to provide a supplemental measure of our operating results that does not include material HPE Next Plan and Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan costs as we do not believe such costs to be reflective of our ongoing operating cost structure. Further as our transformation costs for these plans have materially fluctuated since 2017, have been materially declining since 2021 and we do not expect to incur material transformation costs related to these programs beyond fiscal 2024, we believe non-GAAP measures excluding these costs are useful to management and investors for comparing operating performance across multiple periods.
•We incur costs related to our acquisition, disposition and other related charges. The charges are direct expenses, such as professional fees and retention costs, most of which are treated as non-cash or non-capitalized expenses. For fiscal 2024, these charges were driven by costs associated with the pending merger with Juniper Networks and the acquisition of Morpheus Data, in addition to prior acquisitions of Axis, Athonet and OpsRamp. For fiscal 2023, these charges were driven by acquisitions of Axis, Zerto, OpsRamp and Athonet. Charges may also include expenses associated with disposal activities including legal and arbitration settlements in connection with certain dispositions. We consider these acquisitions and divestitures to be discrete events. We exclude these costs as these expenses are inconsistent in amount and frequency and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of our acquisitions and divestitures. In addition, our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding these charges.
Non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding those same charges mentioned above, as well as other items such as adjustments for equity interests, gain or loss on equity investments, other adjustments, and adjustments for taxes. The Adjustments for taxes line item includes certain income tax valuation allowances and separation taxes, the impact of tax reform, structural rate adjustment, excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation, and adjustments for additional taxes or tax benefits associated with each non-GAAP item. In addition to the items previously explained, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
•During the six months ended April 30, 2024, we stopped reporting H3C earnings in our non-GAAP results due to the planned divestiture of the H3C investment. Per the terms of the original Put Share Purchase Agreement, we weren’t anticipating receiving dividends from this investment prospectively. However, on May 24, 2024, we entered into an
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Amended and Restated Put Share Purchase Agreement and an Agreement on Subsequent Arrangements, both with UNIS, as described in Note 19 “Equity Interests” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, which, taken together, revise the arrangements governing the aforementioned sale as previously set forth in the original Put Share Purchase Agreement. On September 4, 2024, we divested 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C, which resulted in a gain of $733 million and is included in the fiscal 2024 adjustment Gain on sale of equity interest. We continue to possess the option to sell the remaining 19% of the total issued share capital of H3C at a later date. For the second half of fiscal 2024, the adjustment for equity interests incorporated the completed divestment of 30% of the total issued share capital of H3C. All periods presented include the amortization of the basis difference in our investment. For fiscal 2023, this adjustment also included our portion of intangible asset impairment charges from H3C. We believe that eliminating these amounts for purposes of calculating non-GAAP financial measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•We exclude gains and losses (including impairments) on our non-marketable equity investments because we do not believe they are reflective of normal continuing business operations. These adjustments are reflected in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. We believe eliminating these adjustments for the purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance.
•We utilize a structural long-term projected non-GAAP income tax rate in order to provide consistency across the interim reporting periods and to eliminate the effects of items not directly related to our operating structure that can vary in size, frequency and timing. When projecting this long-term rate, we evaluated a three-year financial projection. The projected rate assumes no incremental acquisitions in the three-year projection period and considers other factors including our expected tax structure, our tax positions in various jurisdictions and current impacts from key legislation implemented in major jurisdictions where we operate. For fiscal 2024, we used a projected non-GAAP income tax rate of 15%, which reflects currently available information as well as other factors and assumptions. For fiscal 2023 we used a non-GAAP income tax rate of 14%. The non-GAAP income tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate its long-term rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures, facilitates a supplemental evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to past operating results.
FCF is defined as cash flow from operations, less net capital expenditures (investments in PP&E and software assets less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF does not represent the total increase or decrease in cash for the period. Our management and investors can use FCF for the purpose of determining the amount of cash available for investment in our businesses, repurchasing stock and other purposes as well as evaluating our historical and prospective liquidity.
Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non- GAAP financial measures are that they can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measures and cash flows, they may be calculated differently by other companies (limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes) and may not reflect the full economic effect of the loss in value of certain assets.
We compensate for these limitations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. We also provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for this fiscal year and prior periods, and we encourage investors to review those reconciliations carefully.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001645590-23-000117.
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) section, we use the terms “Hewlett Packard Enterprise,” “HPE,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company.
This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022. Discussions of fiscal 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year October 31, 2022, as filed with the SEC on December 8, 2022, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Consolidated Financial Statements, changes in certain key items in those financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management, such as the mixed macroeconomic environment, supply chain constraints (though easing), uneven demand across our portfolio, increased demand for and adoption of new technologies, conservative customer spending environment, inflationary trend and foreign exchange pressures, and recent tax developments.
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and a summary of our financial performance and other highlights, including non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis and discussion of changes in our cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, and cash requirements and commitments.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation. Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. This section also includes a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The elevated order book levels we experienced in fiscal 2022 have generally declined throughout fiscal 2023, as supply chain constraints eased (though challenges still remain) and demand softened unevenly across our portfolio (as a result of improving supply chain dynamics and as customers have been digesting their prior larger orders). Meanwhile, demand for and adoption of new technologies, such as AI, hybrid cloud, and edge computing, have increased. We have observed, and expect to continue seeing, customers of various segments and sizes pursue such new technologies. As noted above, we have continued to see elongated sales cycles, as customers work through prior orders and adopt a more conservative approach to spending in a mixed macroeconomic environment. This has been particularly true of certain of our hardware businesses, as customers have focused investments on modernizing infrastructure, such as migrating to cloud-based offerings. We expect such mixed macroeconomic environment to continue to moderate our revenue growth in the near term.
As referenced above, mild improvements to industry-wide supply constraints have helped to ease certain supply chain challenges we encountered in the recent past, including the increased availability of supply and lower material and logistics costs. Material cost trends are dependent on the strength or weakness of actual end-user demand and supply dynamics, which will continue to evolve and ultimately impact the translation of the cost environment to our pricing actions and, consequently, our operating results. Logistics costs continued to decrease from previously elevated levels as a result of declines in both expedited shipments and overall rate costs in the freight network.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Additionally, we continue to experience a challenging foreign exchange environment, which has increased costs of products and services and moderated our revenue and earnings growth. We have a large global presence, with more than half of our revenue generated outside of the U.S. As a result, our financial results can be, and particularly in recent periods have been, impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Furthermore, inflationary pressures persist, keeping not only material and logistics costs, but also labor costs, somewhat elevated compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. We expect the unfavorable foreign exchange effects and inflationary trend to continue in the longer term.
Recent Tax Developments
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international association of 38 countries including the United States, has proposed changes to numerous long-standing tax principles, namely, its Pillar Two framework, which imposes a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. In December 2022, the EU member states adopted a directive that implements the Pillar Two framework, which is expected to be enacted into the national laws of the EU member states by December 31, 2023. Certain countries in which we operate have enacted legislation to adopt the Pillar Two framework (e.g., United Kingdom and Korea), and several other countries are also considering changes to their tax laws to implement this framework. The first component of the Pillar Two framework is expected to be effective for us in fiscal 2025 with a second component expected to be effective in fiscal 2026. When and how this framework is adopted or enacted by the various countries in which we do business could increase tax complexity and uncertainty and may adversely affect our provision for income taxes in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions.
On August 16, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “Inflation Reduction Act”) into law. The Inflation Reduction Act includes a new corporate alternative minimum tax (the “Corporate AMT”) of 15% on the adjusted financial statement income (“AFSI”) of corporations with average AFSI exceeding $1.0 billion over a three-year period. The Corporate AMT is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2024. We expect U.S. cash tax to increase in the short term as a result of the Corporate AMT but do not expect the effective tax rate to be impacted as the Corporate AMT is expected to be recovered as a credit in future years. The realizability of any deferred tax asset associated with the Corporate AMT will be determined through our annual valuation allowance analysis. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act imposes an excise tax of 1% tax on the fair market value of net stock repurchases made after December 31, 2022. The impact of this provision will be dependent on the extent of share repurchases made in future periods.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is conducting audits of our fiscal 2017 through 2022 U.S. federal income tax returns. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the IRS issued notices of proposed adjustments (“NOPAs”) for fiscal 2017, 2018, and 2019 relating to our intercompany transfer pricing. After the close of fiscal 2023, the IRS issued a Revenue Agent Report (“RAR”) finalizing their position on the NOPAs for the same issues and same fiscal years. The IRS is seeking to increase taxable income across the three fiscal years by $904 million. As of the balance sheet date, we have sufficient tax credit carryforwards to offset any incremental tax liability from the adjustments in the RAR. However, we disagree with the IRS’ adjustments and believe the positions taken on our tax returns are more likely than not to prevail on technical merits, and we will defend these positions through the IRS administrative processes, as necessary. Accordingly, no changes have been made to our reserves for uncertain tax positions in fiscal 2023 relating to the IRS’ adjustments.
Russia/Ukraine Conflict
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions imposed by the U.S., European Union and other countries in response have negatively impacted our operations in both countries and increased economic and political uncertainty across the world. In response to the sanctions imposed, in February 2022, we suspended all new sales and shipments to Russia and Belarus and implemented compliance measures to address the continuously changing regulatory landscape. Based on a further assessment of business risks and needs, in June 2022, we determined that it was no longer tenable to maintain our operations in Russia and Belarus and have been proceeding with an orderly, managed exit of our remaining business in these countries.
Other Trends and Uncertainties
We have observed market trends and demand gravitating towards AI, hybrid cloud, and edge computing, and data securities capabilities, and offerings. The volume of data at the edge continues to grow, driven by the proliferation of more devices, which has led to the need for enhanced security at the edge, as well. The need for a unified cloud experience everywhere has grown, as well, in order to manage the growth of data at the edge. With the abundance of data, there are opportunities to develop AI tools with powerful computational abilities to extract insights and value from the captured data. We expect these market dynamics and trends to continue in the longer term.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Observing these dynamics, we have accelerated our investment and innovation efforts in these areas that we see as critical to our long-term strategy and growth, including in pivoting our go-to-market motion and sales function. At the same time, we continue to strengthen our core Compute and Storage-oriented offerings and expand our offerings on the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, to enable execution of our aaS pivot to become the edge-to-cloud company for our customers and partners. Furthermore, as noted elsewhere in this report, effective November 1, 2023, we have realigned our financial reporting segments to align with these key market trends. It is uncertain whether we will successfully execute this shift in strategic focus, realize the anticipated benefits of doing so, or capture the anticipated shares of the AI, hybrid cloud, and edge markets.
The following Executive Overview, Results of Operations and Liquidity discussions and analysis compare fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2022, unless otherwise noted. The Capital Resources and, Cash Requirements and Commitments sections present information as of October 31, 2023, unless otherwise noted.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Net revenue of $29.1 billion represented an increase of 2.2% (increased 5.5% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to higher average unit prices (“AUPs”) in the Intelligent Edge and Compute segments, and higher customer acceptances in the High Performance Computing & Artificial Intelligence (“HPC & AI”) segment. The increase in net revenue was moderated by a decline in server unit volume in the Compute segment and unfavorable currency fluctuations. The gross profit margin of 35.1% (or $10.2 billion) represents an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the prior-year period due to the impact of higher-margin networking revenue, higher AUPs in Intelligent Edge and Compute, and lower supply chain and commodity costs. The operating profit margin of 7.2%, represents an increase of 4.5 percentage points primarily due to the aforementioned gross margin improvement, goodwill impairment charges for the HPC & AI and Software businesses in the prior-year period, and lower transformation expenses in the current period. The increase in operating profit margin was moderated by higher planned investments in research and development in the current period.
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 29,135 | $ | 28,496 | 2.2% | ||||
| Gross profit | $ | 10,239 | $ | 9,506 | 7.7% | ||||
| Gross profit margin | 35.1 | % | 33.4 | % | 1.7pts | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 2,089 | $ | 782 | 167.1% | ||||
| Operating profit margin | 7.2 | % | 2.7 | % | 4.5pts | ||||
| Net earnings | $ | 2,025 | $ | 868 | 133.3% | ||||
| Diluted net earnings per share | $ | 1.54 | $ | 0.66 | $0.88 | ||||
| Cash flow from operations | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,593 | $(165) |
The following table summarizes our consolidated non-GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue in constant currency | $ | 30,077 | $ | 28,496 | 5.5% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 10,273 | $ | 9,667 | 6.3% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit margin | 35.3 | % | 33.9 | % | 1.4pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,145 | $ | 3,026 | 3.9% | ||||
| Non-GAAP operating profit margin | 10.8 | % | 10.6 | % | 0.2pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,832 | $ | 2,664 | 6.3% | ||||
| Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share | $ | 2.15 | $ | 2.02 | $0.13 | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 2,238 | $ | 1,794 | $444 |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure herein. Please refer to the section “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A for these reconciliations, a discussion of the use, usefulness and economic substance of the non-GAAP financial measures, along with a discussion of material limitations, and compensation for those limitations, associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
Annualized Revenue Run-rate (“ARR”)
Our pivot to aaS continues its strong momentum with the addition of HPE GreenLake Cloud Services. Our mix of ARR is becoming more software-rich as we build our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, which is improving our margin profile. On the innovation front, we announced a transformative new data storage services platform that brings our cloud operations model to wherever data lives by unifying data operations. The platform will be available through HPE GreenLake Central and includes a new data services cloud console and a suite of software subscription services that simplifies and automates global infrastructure at scale. We will continue to invest aggressively in HPE GreenLake Cloud Services to provide a true cloud experience and operating model, whether at the edge, on-premises or across multiple clouds.
ARR represents the annualized revenue of all net HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income from operating leases and interest income from finance leases), and software-as-a-service, software consumption revenue, and other aaS offerings, recognized during a quarter and multiplied by four. We believe that ARR is a metric that allows management to better understand and highlight the potential future performance of our aaS business. We also believe ARR provides investors with greater transparency to our financial information and of the performance metric used in our financial and operational decision making and allows investors to see our results “through the eyes of management.” We use ARR as a performance metric. ARR should be viewed independently of net revenue and is not intended to be combined with it.
ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.
The following presents our ARR as of October 31, 2023 and 2022:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| ARR | $ | 1,304 | $ | 936 | ||
| Year-over-year growth rate | 39 | % | 17 | % |
The 39% year over year increase in ARR was due primarily to growth in our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, which was due to an expanding customer installed base and expanded range of offerings on the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform. At the segment level, the growth was led by Intelligent Edge aaS and Storage aaS activity.
Returning capital to our shareholders remains an important part of our capital allocation framework, which also consists of strategic investments. We believe our existing balance of cash and cash equivalents, along with commercial paper and other short-term liquidity arrangements, are sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital asset purchases, dividends, debt repayments, and other liquidity requirements associated with our existing operations. As of October 31, 2023, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $4.6 billion, compared to $4.8 billion as of October 31, 2022, representing a decrease of $0.2 billion.
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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), which requires us to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. A summary of significant accounting policies and a summary of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Note 1, “Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II. An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if the nature of the estimate or assumption it incorporates is subject to material level of judgment related to matters that are highly uncertain and changes in those estimates and assumptions are reasonably likely to materially impact our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.
We believe the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into contracts with customers that may include combinations of products and services, resulting in arrangements containing multiple performance obligations for hardware and software products and/or various services.
The majority of our revenue is derived from sales of products and services and the associated support and maintenance, and such revenue is recognized when, or as, control of promised products or services is transferred to the customer at the transaction price. Transaction price is adjusted for variable consideration which may be offered in contracts with customers, partners, and distributors and may include rebates, volume-based discounts, price protection, and other incentive programs.
Significant judgment is applied in determining the transaction price as we may be required to estimate variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition. When determining the amount of revenue to recognize, we estimate the expected usage of these programs, applying the expected value or most likely estimate and update the estimate at each reporting period as actual utilization becomes available. Variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur. We also consider the customers' right of return in determining the transaction price, where applicable.
To recognize revenue for the products and services for which control has been transferred, we allocate the transaction price for the contract among the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price (“SSP”) basis. For products and services sold as a bundle, the SSP is generally not directly observable and requires the Company to estimate SSP based on management judgment by considering available data such as internal margin objectives, pricing strategies, market/competitive conditions, historical profitability data, as well as other observable inputs. For certain products and services, the Company establishes SSP based on the observable price when sold separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. The Company establishes SSP ranges for its products and services and reassesses them periodically.
Taxes on Earnings
We calculate our current and deferred tax provisions based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the final positions reflected in our income tax returns. We adjust our current and deferred tax provisions based on our tax returns which are generally filed in the third or fourth quarters of the subsequent fiscal year.
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which we expect the differences to reverse.
We record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that we are more likely than not to realize. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider future market growth, forecasted earnings, future sources of taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income, of the appropriate character, in the jurisdictions in which the deferred tax assets are located, prior to their expiration under applicable tax laws.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our effective tax rate includes the impact of certain undistributed foreign earnings and basis differences for which we have not provided for U.S. federal taxes because we plan to reinvest such earnings and basis differences indefinitely outside the U.S. We will remit non-indefinitely reinvested earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which deferred U.S. state income and foreign withholding taxes have been provided where excess cash has accumulated and when we determine that it is advantageous for business operations, tax, or cash management reasons.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and approximately 85 other countries, and we are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in many of these jurisdictions. We believe that positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, which may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, our income tax provision includes amounts intended to satisfy assessments that may result from these challenges. Determining the income tax provision for these potential assessments and recording the related effects requires management judgments and estimates. The amounts ultimately paid on resolution of an audit could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our Provision for taxes, Net earnings and cash flows. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our international operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions and related interest, and uncertain tax positions from acquired companies. For further discussion on taxes on earnings, refer to Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Goodwill
We review goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. We are permitted to conduct a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test.
As of October 31, 2023, our reporting units with goodwill are consistent with the reportable segments identified in Note 2, “Segment Information” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, with the exception of Corporate Investments and Other which contains five reporting units: Advisory and Professional Services, Athonet, legacy Communications and Media Solutions business, OpsRamp and Software.
When performing the goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount. An impairment exists if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. For two of our reporting units, Athonet and OpsRamp, we perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying amount. The qualitative assessment requires management judgement in assessing factors including, but not limited to, the macroeconomic and industry environment as well as Company-specific factors. The assessments for Athonet and OpsRamp as of our test date indicated that it is not more likely than not that the fair values of these two reporting units are less than their carrying amounts.
For all of our other reporting units, we conduct a quantitative assessment. Estimating the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a weighting of fair values derived mostly from the income approach and, to a lesser extent, the market approach, with the exception of the Software reporting unit which uses a weighting derived solely from the market approach. Under the income approach, the fair value of a reporting unit is based on discounted cash flow analysis of management's short-term and long-term forecast of operating performance. This analysis includes significant assumptions regarding revenue growth rates, expected operating margins, and timing of expected future cash flows based on market conditions and customer acceptances. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital of comparable public companies adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit's ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, the fair value is based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly traded companies with operating and investment characteristics similar to the reporting unit. We weight the fair value derived from the market approach commensurate with the level of comparability of these publicly traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using the income approach. In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit.
Our annual goodwill impairment analysis, which we performed as of the first day of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, did not result in any impairment charges. The excess of fair value over carrying amount for our reporting units ranged from approximately 5% to 218% of the respective carrying amounts. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the estimated fair value of our reporting units in the goodwill impairment test, we applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of each reporting
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
unit. Based on the results of this hypothetical 10% decrease all of the reporting units had an excess of fair value over carrying amount, except for Compute.
The Compute reporting unit has goodwill of $7.7 billion as of October 31, 2023, and excess of fair value over carrying value of 5% as of the annual test date. The Compute business is facing challenges reflected in the results for October 31, 2023. The Compute business is cyclical in nature. Over the last several years, digital transformation drove increased investment to modernize infrastructure. However, in the current macroeconomic and inflationary environment, customers have slowed their investments resulting in lower server demand and competitive pricing. These dynamics are further compounded by higher supply chain costs. During this cycle, the Compute business continues to focus on capturing market share while maintaining operating margin.
The HPC & AI reporting unit has goodwill of $2.9 billion as of October 31, 2023, and excess of fair value over carrying value of 12% as of the annual test date. The HPC & AI business continues to face challenges related to supply chain constraints of key components and other operational challenges impacting our ability to achieve certain customer acceptance milestones required for revenue recognition and resulting cost increases associated with fulfilling contracts over longer than originally anticipated timelines. We currently believe these challenges will be successfully addressed as the supply chain constraints continue to improve.
In addition, effective November 1, 2023 (fiscal 2024), there were organizational changes impacting the composition of our reporting units. These changes will require us to perform an interim impairment assessment as of that date. If the global macroeconomic or geopolitical conditions worsen, projected revenue growth rates or projected operating margins are not achieved, weighted average cost of capital increases, or if we have a significant sustained decline in our stock price, it is possible our estimates about the Compute, HPC & AI, or our other reporting units’ ability to successfully address the current challenges may change, which could result in the carrying value for our reporting units exceeding their estimated fair value resulting in potential impairment charges.
Our fiscal 2022 annual goodwill impairment analysis resulted in impairment charges for goodwill related to the HPC & AI and Software reporting units. There was no impairment of goodwill for our other reporting units.
The decline in the fair value of the HPC & AI reporting unit in fiscal 2022 below its carrying value resulted from changes in expected future cash flows due to the continuation of supply chain constraints, and other operational challenges as well as an increase in cost of capital. As a result, a goodwill impairment charge of $815 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
The decline in the fair value of the Software reporting unit in fiscal 2022 resulted primarily from a decline in market multiples. As a result, a goodwill impairment charge of $90 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
Contingencies
We are subject to the possibility of losses from various contingencies. Significant judgment is necessary to estimate the probability and amount of a loss, if any, from such contingencies. An accrual is made when it is probable that a liability has been incurred or an asset has been impaired and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. We review these matters at least quarterly and adjust these liabilities to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other updated information and events, pertaining to a particular case.
Based on our experience, we believe that any damage amounts claimed in the specific litigation and contingency matters further discussed in Note 17, “Litigation and Contingencies,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, are not a meaningful indicator of our potential liability. Litigation is inherently unpredictable. However, we believe we have valid defenses with respect to legal matters pending against us. Nevertheless, cash flows or results of operations could be materially affected in any particular period by the resolution of one or more of these contingencies. We believe we have recorded adequate provisions for any such matters and, as of October 31, 2023, it was not reasonably possible that a material loss had been incurred in connection with such matters in excess of the amounts recognized in our financial statements.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Revenue from our international operations has historically represented, and we expect will continue to represent, a majority of our overall net revenue. As a result, our revenue growth has been impacted, and we expect will continue to be impacted, by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. In order to provide a framework for assessing performance excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, we present the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a constant currency basis, which assumes no change in foreign currency exchange rates from the prior-year period and does not adjust for any repricing or demand impacts from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. This change in revenue on a constant currency basis is calculated as the quotient of (a) current year revenue converted to U.S. dollars using the prior-year period's foreign currency exchange rates divided by (b) the prior-year period revenue. This information is provided so that revenue can be viewed without the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which is consistent with how management evaluates our revenue results and trends. This constant currency disclosure is provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a GAAP basis. Other companies may calculate and define similarly labeled items differently, which may limit the usefulness of this measure for comparative purposes.
Results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | $ | 28,496 | 100.0 | % | $ | 27,784 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of sales | 18,896 | 64.9 | % | 18,990 | 66.6 | % | 18,408 | 66.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 10,239 | 35.1 | % | 9,506 | 33.4 | % | 9,376 | 33.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 2,349 | 8.1 | % | 2,045 | 7.2 | % | 1,979 | 7.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 5,160 | 17.7 | % | 4,941 | 17.3 | % | 4,929 | 17.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 288 | 1.0 | % | 293 | 1.0 | % | 354 | 1.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | 905 | 3.2 | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 283 | 1.0 | % | 473 | 1.7 | % | 930 | 3.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Disaster charges | 1 | — | % | 48 | 0.2 | % | 16 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 69 | 0.1 | % | 19 | 0.1 | % | 36 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from operations | 2,089 | 7.2 | % | 782 | 2.7 | % | 1,132 | 4.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest and other, net | (156) | (0.5) | % | (188) | (0.7) | % | (211) | (0.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and other adjustments | 55 | 0.2 | % | (67) | (0.2) | % | 65 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit (cost) credit | (3) | — | % | 134 | 0.5 | % | 70 | 0.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | — | — | % | — | — | % | 2,351 | 8.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests | 245 | 0.8 | % | 215 | 0.8 | % | 180 | 0.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings before taxes | 2,230 | 7.7 | % | 876 | 3.1 | % | 3,587 | 12.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Provision for taxes | (205) | (0.7) | % | (8) | (0.1) | % | (160) | (0.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Net earnings | $ | 2,025 | 7.0 | % | $ | 868 | 3.0 | % | $ | 3,427 | 12.3 | % |
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Net revenue
In fiscal 2023, total net revenue of $29.1 billion represented an increase of $639 million, or 2.2% (increased 5.5% on a constant currency basis). U.S. net revenue increased by $944 million, or 10.0% to $10.4 billion, and net revenue from outside of the U.S. decreased by $305 million, or 1.6%, to $18.7 billion.
The components of the weighted net revenue change by segment were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||
| Percentage Points | ||||
| Compute | (5.0) | 1.6 | ||
| HPC & AI | 2.6 | 0.1 | ||
| Storage | (0.7) | (0.1) | ||
| Intelligent Edge | 5.4 | 1.3 | ||
| Financial Services | 0.5 | (0.2) | ||
| Corporate Investments and Other | — | (0.4) | ||
| Total segment | 2.8 | 2.3 | ||
| Elimination of intersegment net revenue and other | (0.6) | 0.3 | ||
| Total HPE | 2.2 | 2.6 |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
From a segment perspective, the primary factors contributing to the change in total net revenue are summarized as follows:
•Compute net revenue decrease of $1,414 million, or 11.0%, primarily due to a decline in server unit volume and unfavorable currency fluctuations moderated by higher AUPs
•HPC & AI net revenue increase of $721 million, or 22.6%, primarily due to higher customer acceptances
•Storage net revenue decrease of $188 million, or 4.1%, primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations
•Intelligent Edge net revenue increase of $1,530 million, or 41.6%, primarily due to increased AUPs and volume and product mix effect
•Financial Services net revenue increase of $141 million, or 4.2%, primarily due to higher rental revenue from higher average operating leases and higher finance income on finance leases due to an increasing interest rate environment
•Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decrease of $5 million, or 0.4%, primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations
Gross Profit
Fiscal 2023 total gross profit margin of 35.1% represents an increase of 1.7 percentage points as compared to the respective prior year period. The increase was due to the impact of higher-margin networking revenue, higher AUPs in Intelligent Edge and Compute, and lower supply chain and commodity costs. Additionally, the increase was partially offset by lower gross profit from support services.
Operating expenses
Research and development (“R&D”)
R&D expense increased by $304 million, or 14.9%, led by Intelligent Edge, HPC & AI and Storage. The increase was driven by higher employee costs due to an increase in software engineers to pursue our strategic goals, which contributed 15.6 percentage points to the change.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”)
SG&A expense increased by $219 million, or 4.4%, due primarily to higher travel and marketing expenses by 1.8 percentage points; increased employee costs by 1.7 percentage points; factoring fees, charitable donations, other general expenses and higher software expenditures, all of which contributed 1.9 percentage points to the change. The increase was partially offset by a combination of lower consulting costs and cost savings from our transformation programs.
Impairment of goodwill
Impairment of goodwill for fiscal 2022 represents a partial goodwill impairment charge of $905 million recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, as it was determined that the fair value of the HPC & AI and Software reporting units was below the carrying value of their net assets.
Transformation programs and costs
Our transformation programs consist of the Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan (launched in 2020) and the HPE Next Plan (launched in 2017).
Transformation costs decreased by $190 million, or 40.2%, due to lower charges incurred in the current period as these plans approach completion. Refer to Note 3, “Transformation Programs” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II for further discussion.
Disaster charges
Disaster charges decreased by $47 million or 97.9% due to charges recorded in fiscal 2022 driven by the Company’s exit from its Russia and Belarus businesses.
Interest and other, net
Interest and other, net expense decreased by $32 million, due to favorable currency fluctuations and an increase in net interest income from higher interest rates, partially offset by an increase in impairments recorded on equity investments in fiscal 2023.
Tax indemnification and other adjustments
We record changes in certain pre-separation and pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables for which we remain liable on behalf of the separated or divested business, but which may not be subject to indemnification.
We recorded Tax indemnification and other adjustments income of $55 million and expense of $67 million in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively.
In fiscal 2023, Tax indemnification and other adjustments included the favorable settlement of tax indemnification liabilities for certain pre-divestiture tax liabilities. In fiscal 2022, Tax indemnification and other adjustments resulted from changes in certain pre-separation tax liabilities, for which we partially shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we were indemnified under the Termination and Mutual Release Agreement, and changes to certain pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables.
Non-service net periodic benefit (cost) credit
Non-service net periodic benefit (cost) credit represents the components of net periodic pension benefit costs, other than service cost, for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise defined benefit pension and post-retirement benefit plans such as interest cost, expected return on plan assets, and the amortization of prior plan amendments and actuarial gains or losses. The benefit (cost) credit also includes the impact of any plan settlements, curtailments, or special termination benefits.
In fiscal 2023, Non-service net periodic benefit (cost) credit decreased by $137 million resulting in non-service net periodic benefit cost of $3 million in the current period, as compared to non-service net periodic benefit credit of $134 million in fiscal 2022. The change was primarily due to higher interest cost as a result of higher discount rates, partially offset by higher expected returns on assets and lower amortized actuarial losses in the current period.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Earnings from equity interests
Earnings from equity interests primarily represents our 49% interest in H3C Technologies Co., Limited (“H3C”) and the amortization of our interest in a basis difference. In fiscal 2023, Earnings from equity interests increased by $30 million due primarily to lower amortization expense from basis difference in the current period.
Provision for taxes
For fiscal 2023 and 2022, we recorded income tax expense of $205 million and $8 million, respectively, which reflect effective tax rates of 9.2% and 0.9%, respectively. Our effective tax rate generally differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from our operations in lower tax jurisdictions throughout the world but may also be materially impacted by discrete tax adjustments during the fiscal year. Our tax rate for fiscal 2022 also included the effects of the non-deductible goodwill impairment. The jurisdictions with favorable tax rates that had the most significant impact on our effective tax rate in the periods presented include Puerto Rico and Singapore.
In fiscal 2023, we recorded $131 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$104 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges and
•$19 million of net excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.
In fiscal 2022, we recorded $454 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$150 million of income tax benefits related to releases of foreign valuation allowances,
•$99 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges,
•$43 million of income tax benefits related to the settlement of U.S. tax audit matters,
•$42 million of income tax benefits related to the release of U.S. passive foreign tax credit valuation allowance,
•$30 million of income tax benefits related to the change in pre-separation tax liabilities, primarily those for which we shared joint and several liability with, and for which we were indemnified by, HP Inc.,
•$27 million of income tax benefits related to the utilization of capital losses which had a full valuation allowance,
•$12 million of income tax benefits as a result of the fiscal 2021 U.S. tax return filing primarily from the decrease in Global Intangible Low Taxed Income, and
•$11 million of net income tax benefits related to settlements and ongoing discussions in foreign tax audit matters.
Segment Information
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's organizational structure is based on a number of factors that the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”), who is the CEO, uses to evaluate, view, and run our business operations, which include, but are not limited to, customer base and homogeneity of products and technology. The segments are based on this organizational structure and information reviewed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's management to evaluate segment results.
A description of the products and services for each segment, along with other pertinent information related to Segments can be found in Note 2, “Segment Information,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Segment Results
The following provides an overview of our key financial metrics by segment for fiscal 2023 as compared to fiscal 2022:
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
| HPE Consolidated | Compute | HPC & AI | Storage | Intelligent Edge | Financial Services | CorporateInvestments and Other | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue(1) | $ | 29,135 | $ | 11,436 | $ | 3,913 | $ | 4,415 | $ | 5,204 | $ | 3,480 | $ | 1,250 | ||||||
| Year-over-year change % | 2.2% | (11.0)% | 22.6% | (4.1)% | 41.6% | 4.2% | (0.4)% | |||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations(2) | $ | 2,089 | $ | 1,569 | $ | 47 | $ | 429 | $ | 1,419 | $ | 317 | $ | (172) | ||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations as a % of net revenue | 7.2% | 13.7% | 1.2% | 9.7% | 27.3% | 9.1% | (13.8)% | |||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change percentage points | 4.5 | pts | (0.5) | pts | 0.9 | pts | (4.2) | pts | 12.4 | pts | (2.8) | pts | (6.5) | pts |
(1)HPE consolidated net revenue excludes inter-segment net revenue.
(2)Segment earnings from operations exclude certain unallocated corporate costs and eliminations, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of initial direct costs, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges and acquisition, disposition and other related charges.
Compute
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022% Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 11,436 | $ | 12,850 | $ | 12,409 | (11.0) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,569 | $ | 1,821 | $ | 1,382 | (13.8) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 13.7 | % | 14.2 | % | 11.1 | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Compute net revenue decreased by $1,414 million, or 11.0% (decreased 7.1% on a constant currency basis), primarily due to a $1,424 million, or 14.3%, decrease in product revenue. The decline in product revenue was primarily due to lower server unit volume of $1,889 million, or 18.9%, and unfavorable currency fluctuations of $399 million. The product revenue decline was moderated by an increase in AUPs of $864 million, or 8.7%, led by higher sales of server configurations with more complex component architectures in our next generation products.
Compute earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 0.5 percentage points primarily due to an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue partially offset by a decrease in the cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to the scale of the net revenue decline. The decrease in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to higher AUPs moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations and higher supply chain costs.
HPC & AI
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022% Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,913 | $ | 3,192 | $ | 3,184 | 22.6 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 47 | $ | 11 | $ | 231 | 327.3 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 1.2 | % | 0.3 | % | 7.3 | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
HPC & AI net revenue increased by $721 million, or 22.6% (increased 25.2% on a constant currency basis), primarily due to a $759 million, or 33.6%, increase in product revenue. The product revenue increase was led by the HPE Cray Supercomputing product portfolio, as operational and supply improvements addressed challenges with achieving certain
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
customer acceptance milestones for revenue recognition. HPE Cray Supercomputing experienced a deal volume increase of $991 million, or 43.9 %, moderated by lower AUPs of $358 million, or 15.8%. The product revenue was also impacted by unfavorable currency fluctuation of $69 million. Services revenue declined by $38 million, or 4.1%, primarily due to unfavorable portfolio mix of service offerings.
HPC & AI earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue remained relatively flat, driven by a decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue partially offset by an increase in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue.
Storage
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 4,415 | $ | 4,603 | $ | 4,635 | (4.1) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 429 | $ | 641 | $ | 716 | (33.1) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 9.7 | % | 13.9 | % | 15.4 | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Storage net revenue decreased by $188 million, or 4.1% (decreased 0.7% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations and a decrease in AUPs. Storage product revenue decreased by $187 million, or 6.9%, primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations of $122 million, a decrease in AUPs of $21 million, or 0.8%, led by HPE Alletra Storage portfolio and big data, a unit volume decrease of $25 million, or 0.9%, led by HPE Alletra Storage portfolio and moderated by big data, and lower revenue from Russia of $20 million. Storage services revenue remained relatively flat.
Storage earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 4.2 percentage points due to increases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to unfavorable currency fluctuations partially offset by lower supply chain costs. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to incremental investments in R&D and field selling costs.
Intelligent Edge
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 5,204 | $ | 3,674 | $ | 3,302 | 41.6 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,419 | $ | 549 | $ | 509 | 158.5 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 27.3 | % | 14.9 | % | 15.4 | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Intelligent Edge net revenue increased by $1,530 million, or 41.6% (increased 44.9% on a constant currency basis). Product revenue increased by $1,387 million, or 46.5%, led by higher AUPs of $1,257 million, or 42.2%, and a volume and product mix effect of $236 million, or 7.9%, moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations of $106 million. The product revenue increase was led by switching and wireless local area network products, which benefited from improvements in the supply availability, and elevated order book levels at the beginning of the period. Services net revenue increased $143 million, or 20.6%, primarily led by our aaS and attached support service offerings.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 12.4 percentage points primarily due to decreases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to lower supply chain costs, moderating the decrease was a lower mix of higher-margin support services revenue. Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue decreased primarily due to our cost containment measures.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Financial Services
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,480 | $ | 3,339 | $ | 3,401 | 4.2 | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 317 | $ | 399 | $ | 390 | (20.6) | % | ||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 9.1 | % | 11.9 | % | 11.5 | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
FS net revenue increased by $141 million, or 4.2% (increased 5.4% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to higher rental revenue from higher average operating leases and higher finance income on finance leases due to an increasing interest rate environment, partially offset by lower asset management revenue primarily from lower pre-owned asset sales and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 2.8 percentage points due primarily to an increase in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue, while operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue were relatively flat. The increase to cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulted primarily from a combination of higher borrowing costs and higher depreciation expense, partially offset by lower bad debt expense.
Financing Volume
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Financing volume | $ | 6,412 | $ | 6,252 | $ | 6,168 |
Financing volume, which represents the amount of financing provided to customers for equipment and related software and services, including intercompany activity, increased by 2.6% in fiscal 2023 as compared to the prior-year period. The increase was primarily driven by higher financing of HPE product sales and services, partially offset by lower financing of third-party product sales and services and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Portfolio Assets and Ratios
The FS business model is asset intensive and uses certain internal metrics to measure its performance against other financial services companies, including a segment balance sheet that is derived from our internal management reporting system. The accounting policies used to derive FS amounts are substantially the same as those used by the Company. However, intercompany loans and certain accounts that are reflected in the segment balances are eliminated in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The portfolio assets and ratios derived from the segment balance sheets for FS were as follows:
| As of October 31 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| Financing receivables, gross | $ | 8,814 | $ | 8,359 | ||
| Net equipment under operating leases | 4,100 | 4,103 | ||||
| Capitalized profit on intercompany equipment transactions(1) | 263 | 241 | ||||
| Intercompany leases(1) | 109 | 97 | ||||
| Gross portfolio assets | 13,286 | 12,800 | ||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts(2) | 178 | 222 | ||||
| Operating lease equipment reserve | 36 | 44 | ||||
| Total reserves | 214 | 266 | ||||
| Net portfolio assets | $ | 13,072 | $ | 12,534 | ||
| Reserve coverage | 1.6 | % | 2.1 | % | ||
| Debt-to-equity ratio(3) | 7.0x | 7.0x |
(1)Intercompany activity is eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Allowance for credit losses for financing receivables includes both the short- and long-term portions.
(3)Debt benefiting FS consists of intercompany equity that is treated as debt for segment reporting purposes, intercompany debt, and borrowing- and funding-related activity associated with FS and its subsidiaries. Debt benefiting FS totaled $11.6 billion and $11.5 billion at October 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and was determined by applying an assumed debt-to-equity ratio, which management believes to be comparable to that of other similar financing companies. FS equity at October 31, 2023 and 2022, was $1.7 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.
As of October 31, 2023 and 2022, FS net cash and cash equivalents balances were $700 million and $923 million, respectively.
Net portfolio assets as of October 31, 2023 increased 4.3% from October 31, 2022. The increase generally resulted from new financing volume exceeding portfolio runoff during the period, along with favorable currency fluctuations.
FS bad debt expense includes charges to general reserves, specific reserves and write-offs for sales-type, direct-financing and operating leases. FS recorded net bad debt expense of $59 million, $82 million and $95 million in fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Corporate Investments and Other
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2023 vs 2022 % Change | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 1,250 | $ | 1,255 | $ | 1,356 | (0.4) | % | ||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (172) | $ | (92) | $ | (95) | 87.0 | % | ||||||
| Loss from operations as a % of net revenue | (13.8) | % | (7.3) | % | (7.0) | % |
Fiscal 2023 compared with fiscal 2022
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased by $5 million, or 0.4% (increased 3.3% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 6.5 percentage points primarily due to an increase in cost of services and operating expense as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to unfavorable currency fluctuations, higher services delivery costs and higher variable compensation expense. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to higher variable compensation expense.
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Overview
We use cash generated by operations as our primary source of liquidity. We believe that internally generated cash flows will be generally sufficient to support our operating businesses, capital expenditures, product development initiatives, acquisitions and disposal activities including legal settlements, restructuring activities, transformation costs, indemnifications, maturing debt, interest payments, and income tax payments, in addition to any future investments, share repurchases, and stockholder dividend payments. We expect to supplement this short-term liquidity, if necessary, by accessing the capital markets, issuing commercial paper, and borrowing under credit facilities made available by various domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, our access to capital markets may be constrained and our cost of borrowing may increase under certain business, market and economic conditions. We anticipate that the funds made available and cash generated from operations along with our access to capital markets will be sufficient to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve months and for the foreseeable future thereafter. Our liquidity is subject to various risks including the risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A and market risks identified in the section entitled “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in Item 7A.
Our cash balances are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with a substantial amount held outside the U.S as of October 31, 2023. We utilize a variety of planning and financing strategies in an effort to provide availability of our worldwide cash when and where it is needed.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support our non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations of amounts held outside the U.S. generally should not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective, but may be subject to state income or foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through ongoing cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on the repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
In connection with the share repurchase program previously authorized by our Board of Directors, during fiscal 2023, we repurchased and settled an aggregate amount of $0.4 billion. As of October 31, 2023, we had a remaining authorization of approximately $1.0 billion for future share repurchases. For more information on our share repurchase program, refer to Note 15, “Stockholders' Equity,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Pursuant to the Shareholders' Agreement among our relevant subsidiaries, Unisplendour International Technology Limited (“UNIS”), and H3C dated as of May 1, 2016, as amended from time to time, and most recently on October 28, 2022, we delivered a notice to UNIS on December 30, 2022, to exercise our right to put to UNIS, for cash consideration, all of the H3C shares held by us, which represent 49% of the total issued share capital of H3C. On May 26, 2023, our relevant subsidiaries entered into a Put Share Purchase Agreement with UNIS, whereby UNIS has agreed to purchase all of the H3C shares held by us, through our subsidiaries, for a total pre-tax cash consideration of $3.5 billion. We intend to consider a range of allocation activities, in line with our practice of pursuing a balanced, returns-based approach for capital allocation decisions, including but not limited to organic and strategic investments, return of capital to shareholders, repayment and/or redemption of outstanding debt, and general corporate purposes. The disposition remains subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals and completion of certain conditions necessary for closing.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Liquidity
Our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, total debt and available borrowing resources were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 4,581 | $ | 4,763 | $ | 4,332 | ||||
| Total debt | 12,355 | 12,465 | 13,448 | |||||||
| Available borrowing resources | 6,588 | 6,161 | 6,017 | |||||||
| Commercial paper programs(1) | 5,071 | 5,208 | 5,045 | |||||||
| Uncommitted lines of credit(2) | $ | 1,517 | $ | 953 | $ | 972 |
(1)The maximum aggregate borrowing amount of the commercial paper programs and revolving credit facility is $5.75 billion.
(2)The maximum aggregate capacity under the uncommitted lines of credit is $1.8 billion of which $0.3 billion was primarily utilized towards issuances of bank guarantees.
The tables below represent the way in which management reviews cash flows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (3,284) | (2,087) | (2,796) | |||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (1,362) | (1,796) | (3,364) | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 36 | (279) | — | |||||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | (182) | $ | 431 | $ | (289) | ||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 2,238 | $ | 1,794 | $ | 1,551 |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $165 million for fiscal 2023, as compared to fiscal 2022. The decrease was primarily due to unfavorable working capital primarily resulting from higher vendor payments and an increase in financing receivables, moderated by unfavorable hedging positions, lower cash payouts for variable compensation, and favorable impacts from other assets and liabilities during the current period.
Our working capital metrics and cash conversion impacts were as follows:
| As of October 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| Days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable (“DSO”) | 43 | 47 | 49 | ||||
| Days of supply in inventory (“DOS”) | 87 | 88 | 82 | ||||
| Days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable (“DPO”) | (134) | (149) | (128) | ||||
| Cash conversion cycle | (4) | (14) | 3 |
The cash conversion cycle is the sum of DSO and DOS less DPO. Items which may cause the cash conversion cycle in a particular period to differ include, but are not limited to, changes in business mix, changes in payment terms (including extended payment terms to customers or from suppliers), early or late invoice payments from customers or to suppliers, the extent of receivables factoring, seasonal trends, the timing of revenue recognition and inventory purchases within the period, the impact of commodity costs and acquisition activity.
DSO measures the average number of days our receivables are outstanding. DSO is calculated by dividing ending accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, by a 90-day average of net revenue. Compared to the three-month
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
period ending October 31, 2022, the decrease in DSO by 4 days in the current period was primarily due to higher early collections and receivables factoring.
DOS measures the average number of days from procurement to sale of our product. DOS is calculated by dividing ending inventory by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period ending October 31, 2022, the DOS remained relatively flat.
DPO measures the average number of days our accounts payable balances are outstanding. DPO is calculated by dividing ending accounts payable by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. Compared to the corresponding three-month period ending October 31, 2022, the decrease in DPO by 15 days in the current period was primarily due to lower inventory purchases during the current period.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities increased by $1.2 billion in fiscal 2023, as compared to fiscal 2022. The increase was primarily due to payments made in connection with business acquisitions of $0.8 billion, higher cash utilized in net financial collateral activities of $0.5 billion, lower proceeds from maturities and sales of investments, net of purchases of $0.2 billion, offset by lower investment in property, plant and equipment of $0.3 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities decreased by $0.4 billion in fiscal 2023, as compared to fiscal 2022. The decrease was primarily due to an increase in proceeds from debt, net of issuance costs of $1.4 billion, offset by higher repayments of debt and short-term borrowings of $1.0 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow (“FCF”) represents cash flow from operations, less net capital expenditures (investments in property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF increased by $0.4 billion in fiscal 2023, as compared to fiscal 2022, due to a favorable currency impact on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, lower cash utilized for investments in PP&E, moderated by lower cash provided from operations, as compared to the prior-year period. For more information on our FCF, refer to the section entitled “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliations” included in this MD&A.
For more information on the impact from operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Capital Resources
Debt Levels
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Short-term debt | $ | 4,868 | $ | 4,612 | $ | 3,552 | ||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 7,487 | $ | 7,853 | $ | 9,896 | ||||
| Weighted-average interest rate | 5.4 | % | 4.0 | % | 2.9 | % |
We maintain debt levels that we establish through consideration of a number of factors, including cash flow expectations, cash requirements for operations, investment plans (including acquisitions), share repurchase activities, our cost of capital, and targeted capital structure. We maintain a revolving credit facility and two commercial paper programs, "the Parent Programs", and a wholly-owned subsidiary maintains a third program. There have been no changes to our commercial paper programs and revolving credit facility since October 31, 2022.
In December 2020, we filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows us to sell, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depository shares, purchase contracts, guarantees or units consisting of any of these securities. The shelf registration statement expired in December 2023, and we expect to file a new shelf registration statement around the time of the filing of this report.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Significant funding and liquidity activities for fiscal 2023 were as follows:
Debt Issuances:
•In March 2023 and June 2023, we issued $1.3 billion and $250 million, respectively, of 5.90% Senior Notes due October 1, 2024
•In March 2023, we issued $400 million of 6.102% Senior Notes due April 1, 2026
•In March and April 2023, we issued $643 million of asset-backed debt securities in five tranches with a weighted average interest rate of 5.59% and final maturity date of April 20, 2028
•In June 2023, we issued $550 million of 5.25% Senior Notes due July 1, 2028
•In September 2023, we issued $612 million of asset-backed debt securities in six tranches with a weighted average interest rate of 6.40% and final maturity date of July 21, 2031.
Debt Repayments:
•In April 2023, we repaid $1.0 billion of 2.25% fixed rate Senior Notes
•In October 2023, we repaid $1.25 billion of 4.45% Senior Notes
•During fiscal 2023, we repaid $1.7 billion of the outstanding asset-backed debt securities.
Our weighted-average interest rate reflects the average effective rate on our borrowings prevailing during the period and reflects the impact of interest rate swaps. For more information on our interest rate swaps, see Note 13, “Financial Instruments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
For more information on our available borrowing resources and the impact of operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” and Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Cash Requirements and Commitments
Long-term debt and interest payments on debt
As of October 31, 2023, future principal payment obligations on our long-term debt including asset-backed debt securities totaled $11.7 billion of which $4.0 billion is due within one year. As of October 31, 2023, our finance lease obligations, including interest, was $48 million, of which $6 million is to be due within one year. For more information on our debt, see Note 14, “Borrowings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
As of October 31, 2023, future interest payments relating to our long-term debt is estimated to be approximately $3.5 billion, of which $0.6 billion is expected to be due within one year. We use interest rate swaps to mitigate the exposure of our fixed rate debt to changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates, or hedge the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with our variable-rate debt. The impact of our outstanding interest rate swaps as of October 31, 2023 was factored into the calculation of the future interest payments on long-term debt.
Operating lease obligations
We enter into various leases as a lessee for assets including office buildings, data centers, vehicles, and aviation. As of October 31, 2023, operating lease obligations, net of sublease rental income totaled $1.6 billion, of which $216 million is due within one year. These amounts included uncommenced operating leases as of October 31, 2023, and did not reflect imputed interest adjustments. For more information on our leases, see Note 8, “Accounting for Leases as a Lessee,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Unconditional purchase obligations
Our unconditional purchase obligations are related principally to inventory purchases, software maintenance and support services and other items. Unconditional purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancellable without penalty. As of October 31, 2023, unconditional purchase obligations totaled $1.6 billion, of which $580 million is due within one year. For more information on our unconditional purchase obligations, see Note 19, “Commitments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Retirement Benefit Plan Funding
In fiscal 2024, we anticipate making contributions of $182 million to our non-U.S. pension plans. Our policy is to fund pension plans to meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by various authorities including local government and taxing authorities. Expected contributions and payments to our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are not considered as contractual obligations because they do not represent contractual cash outflows, as they are dependent on numerous factors which may result in a wide range of outcomes. For more information on our retirement and post-retirement benefit plans, see Note 4, “Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Restructuring Plans
As of October 31, 2023, we expect future cash payments of approximately $360 million in connection with our approved restructuring plans, which includes $240 million expected to be paid in fiscal 2024 and $120 million expected to be paid thereafter. Payments for restructuring activities are not considered as contractual obligations, because they do not represent contractual cash outflows and there is uncertainty as to the timing of these payments. For more information on our restructuring activities, see Note 3, “Transformation Programs,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Uncertain Tax Positions
As of October 31, 2023, we had approximately $224 million of recorded liabilities and related interest and penalties pertaining to uncertain tax positions. These liabilities and related interest and penalties include $9 million expected to be paid within one year. For the remaining amount, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate as to when cash settlement with the tax authorities might occur due to the uncertainties related to these tax matters. Payments of these obligations would result from settlements with taxing authorities. For more information on our uncertain tax positions, see Note 6, “Taxes on Earnings,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we have not participated in transactions that generate material relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
We have third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 7, “Balance Sheet Details,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for the periods presented:
Reconciliation of GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin to non-GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP Net revenue | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | $ | 28,496 | 100.0 | % | |||||
| GAAP Cost of sales | 18,896 | 64.9 | % | 18,990 | 66.6 | % | |||||||
| GAAP gross profit | $ | 10,239 | 35.1 | % | $ | 9,506 | 33.4 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | — | — | % | 4 | — | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 47 | 0.2 | % | 46 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Disaster (recovery) charges | (13) | — | % | 111 | 0.4 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 10,273 | 35.3 | % | $ | 9,667 | 33.9 | % |
Reconciliation of GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin to non-GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 2,089 | 7.2 | % | $ | 782 | 2.7 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | — | — | % | 4 | — | % | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 288 | 1.0 | % | 293 | 1.0 | % | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | 905 | 3.2 | % | |||||||
| Transformation costs | 283 | 1.0 | % | 473 | 1.6 | % | |||||||
| Disaster (recovery) charges | (12) | — | % | 159 | 0.6 | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 428 | 1.5 | % | 391 | 1.4 | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 69 | 0.2 | % | 19 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,145 | 10.8 | % | $ | 3,026 | 10.6 | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share to non-GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,025 | $ | 1.54 | $ | 868 | $ | 0.66 | ||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | — | — | 4 | — | ||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 288 | 0.22 | 293 | 0.22 | ||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | 905 | 0.69 | ||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 283 | 0.22 | 473 | 0.36 | ||||||||||
| Disaster (recovery) charges | (12) | (0.01) | 159 | 0.12 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 428 | 0.33 | 391 | 0.30 | ||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 69 | 0.05 | 19 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and other adjustments | (55) | (0.04) | 67 | 0.05 | ||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit cost (credit) | 3 | — | (134) | (0.10) | ||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests(1) | 18 | 0.01 | 45 | 0.03 | ||||||||||
| Impairment of investment | 40 | 0.03 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for taxes | (255) | (0.20) | (426) | (0.32) | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,832 | $ | 2.15 | $ | 2,664 | $ | 2.02 |
(1) Represents the amortization of basis difference adjustments related to the H3C divestiture. Fiscal 2023 included the Company's portion of intangible asset impairment charges from H3C of $8 million.
Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,428 | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | ||||
| Litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | — | — | (2,172) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | 4,428 | 4,593 | 3,699 | |||||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | (2,828) | (3,122) | (2,502) | |||||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 602 | 602 | 354 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 36 | (279) | — | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 2,238 | $ | 1,794 | $ | 1,551 |
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The non-GAAP financial measures presented are net revenue on a constant currency basis (including at the business segment level), non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP tax rate, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, and FCF. These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to net revenue on a constant currency basis is net revenue. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit margin is gross profit margin. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP earnings from operations is earnings from operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) is operating profit margin (earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue). The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP income tax rate is income tax rate. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings is net earnings. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share is diluted net earnings per share. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to FCF is cash flow from operations.
We believe that providing the non-GAAP measures stated above, in addition to the related GAAP measures provides greater transparency to the information used in our financial and operational decision making and allows the reader of our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements to see our financial results “through the eyes” of management. We further believe that providing this information provides investors with a supplemental view to understand our historical and prospective
operating performance and to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by management to evaluate and measure such performance. Disclosure of these non-GAAP financial measures also facilitates comparisons of our operating performance with the performance of other companies in the same industry that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated in a similar manner.
Economic Substance of non-GAAP Financial Measures
Net revenue on a constant currency basis assumes no change to the foreign exchange rate utilized in the comparable prior-year period. This measure assists investors with evaluating our past and future performance, without the impact of foreign exchange rates, as more than half of our revenue is generated outside of the U.S.
We believe that excluding the items mentioned below from the non-GAAP financial measures provides a supplemental view to management and our investors of our consolidated financial performance and presents the financial results of the business without costs that we do not believe to be reflective of our ongoing operating results. Exclusion of these items can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP measure and cash flows thus limiting the use of such non-GAAP financial measures as analytic tools. See “Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below for further information.
Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross profit margin are defined to exclude charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, stock-based compensation expense, and disaster charges. See below for the reasons management excludes each item:
•Amortization of initial direct costs represents the portion of lease origination costs incurred in prior fiscal years that do not qualify for capitalization under the new leasing standard. We exclude these costs as we elected the practical expedient under the new leasing standard. As a result, we did not adjust these historical costs to accumulated deficit. We believe that most financing companies did not elect this practical expedient and therefore we exclude these costs. This can have an impact on the equivalent GAAP measures and Financial Services segment results.
•Stock-based compensation expense consists of equity awards granted based on the estimated fair value of those awards at grant date. Although stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to our employees, we exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are non-cash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding stock-based compensation expense.
•Disaster (recovery) charges are primarily related to the exit of our businesses in Russia and Belarus, and include credit losses of financing and trade receivables, employee severance and abandoned assets. Disaster (recovery) charges also include direct costs or recovery of these costs related to COVID-19 as a result of Hewlett Packard Enterprise-hosted, co-hosted, or sponsored event cancellations and subsequent shift to a virtual format. While we present various items as
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Disaster charges (recovery), we exclude Disaster charges (recovery) from these non-GAAP measures as the specific charges are non-recurring charges and not indicative of the operational performance of our business.
Non-GAAP earnings from operations and non-GAAP operating profit margin consist of earnings from operations or earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue excluding the items mentioned above and charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets, goodwill impairment, transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges. In addition to the items previously explained above, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
•We incur charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets and exclude these charges for purposes of calculating these non-GAAP measures. Such charges are significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisitions. We exclude these charges for the purpose of calculating these non-GAAP measures, primarily because they are noncash expenses and our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding intangible asset amortization. Although this does not directly affect our cash position, the loss in value of intangible assets over time can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measure.
•In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, Hewlett Packard Enterprise recorded an impairment charge for the goodwill associated with its HPC & AI and Software reporting units following the annual goodwill impairment review. Hewlett Packard Enterprise excludes these charges for purposes of calculating these non-GAAP measures to facilitate a more meaningful evaluation of current operating performance and comparisons to operating performance in other periods.
•Transformation costs represent net costs related to the (i) HPE Next Plan and (ii) Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan and include restructuring charges, program design and execution costs, costs incurred to transform our IT infrastructure, net gains from the sale of real estate and any impairment charges on real estate identified as part of the initiatives. We exclude these costs as they are discrete costs related to two specific transformation programs that were announced in 2017 and 2020, respectively, as multi-year programs necessary to transform the business and IT infrastructure following material divestiture transactions in 2017 and in response to COVID-19 and an evolving product portfolio in fiscal 2020. The primary elements of the HPE Next and the Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan have been substantially completed by October 31, 2023. The exclusion of the transformation program costs from our non-GAAP financial measures as stated above is to provide a supplemental measure of our operating results that does not include material HPE Next Plan and Cost Optimization and Prioritization Plan costs as we do not believe such costs to be reflective of our ongoing operating cost structure. Further as our transformation costs for these plans have materially fluctuated since 2017, have been materially declining since 2021 and we do not expect to incur material transformation costs related to these programs beyond fiscal 2023, we believe non-GAAP measures excluding these costs are useful to management and investors for comparing operating performance across multiple periods.
•We incur costs related to our acquisition, disposition and other related charges. The charges are direct expenses, such as professional fees and retention costs, most of which are treated as non-cash or non-capitalized expenses. Charges may also include expenses associated with disposal activities including legal and arbitration settlements in connection with certain dispositions. We exclude these costs as these expenses are inconsistent in amount and frequency and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of our acquisitions and divestitures. In addition, our internal benchmarking analyses evidence that many industry participants and peers present non-GAAP financial measures excluding these charges.
Non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding those same charges mentioned above, as well as other items such as tax indemnification and other adjustments, non-service net periodic benefit cost (credit), earnings from equity interests, impairment of investment, and adjustments for taxes. The Adjustments for taxes line item includes certain income tax valuation allowances and separation taxes, the impact of tax reform, structural rate adjustment, excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation, and adjustments for additional taxes or tax benefits associated with each non-GAAP item. In addition to the items previously explained, management excludes these items for the following reasons:
•Tax indemnification and other adjustments are primarily related to changes to certain pre-separation and pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables for which we remain liable on behalf of the separated or divested business, but which may not be subject to indemnification. We exclude these income or charges and the associated tax impact for the purpose of calculating non-GAAP measures to facilitate an evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to operating performance in prior periods.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
•Non-service net periodic benefit cost (credit) includes certain market-related factors such as (i) interest cost, (ii) expected return on plan assets, (iii) amortization of prior plan amendments, (iv) amortized actuarial gains or losses, (v) the impacts of any plan settlements/curtailments and (vi) impacts from other market-related factors associated with our defined benefit pension and post-retirement benefit plans. These market-driven retirement-related adjustments are primarily due to the change in pension plan assets and liabilities which are tied to financial market performance. We exclude these adjustments for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures and consider them to be outside the operational performance of the business.
•Adjustment to earnings from equity interests includes the amortization of the basis difference in relation to the H3C divestiture and the resulting equity method investment in H3C. In the first fiscal quarter of 2023, this adjustment also included our portion of intangible asset impairment charges from H3C. We believe that eliminating this amount for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to operating performance in prior periods.
•In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, HPE recorded an impairment charge for an equity investment resulting from a permanent reduction of the investee’s assets. This adjustment was reflected in Interest and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. We believe eliminating impairment of investment for the purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures facilitates the evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to operating performance in prior periods.
•We utilize a structural long-term projected non-GAAP income tax rate in order to provide consistency across the interim reporting periods and to eliminate the effects of items not directly related to our operating structure that can vary in size and frequency. When projecting this long-term rate, we evaluated a three-year financial projection. The projected rate assumes no incremental acquisitions in the three-year projection period and considers other factors including our expected tax structure, our tax positions in various jurisdictions and current impacts from key legislation implemented in major jurisdictions where we operate. For fiscal 2023 and 2022, we used a non-GAAP income tax rate of 14%. The non-GAAP income tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in our geographic earnings mix including due to acquisition activity, or other changes to our strategy or business operations. We will re-evaluate its long-term rate as appropriate. We believe that making these adjustments for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures, facilitates a supplemental evaluation of our current operating performance and comparisons to past operating results.
FCF is a non-GAAP measure that is defined as cash flow from operations, excluding the impact of proceeds received in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 from a one-time Itanium litigation judgment, less net capital expenditures (investments in PP&E less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. FCF does not represent the total increase or decrease in cash for the period. Our management and investors can use FCF for the purpose of determining the amount of cash available for investment in our businesses, repurchasing stock and other purposes as well as evaluating our historical and prospective liquidity.
Compensation for Limitations With Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non- GAAP financial measures are that they can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measures and cash flows, they may be calculated differently by other companies (limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes) and may not reflect the full economic effect of the loss in value of certain assets.
We compensate for these limitations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. We also provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for this fiscal year and prior periods, and we encourage investors to review those reconciliations carefully.
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001645590-22-000071.
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") section, we use the terms "Hewlett Packard Enterprise", "HPE", "the Company", "we", "us", and "our" to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. References in the MD&A section to "former Parent" refer to HP Inc.
This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021. Discussions of fiscal 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2021, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Consolidated Financial Statements, changes in certain key items in those financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear elsewhere in this document.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management, such as the ongoing macroeconomic environment of supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures, our managed exit from Russia and Belarus, recent tax legislation, and other events.
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and a summary of our financial performance and other highlights, including non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis and discussion of changes in our cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, and cash requirements and commitments.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation. Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure therein. This section also includes a discussion of the usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures, and material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The overall demand environment continues to improve but remains impacted by industry-wide supply constraints, which contributed to a challenging supply chain environment, and inflationary pressures, both of which have been driving up material, logistics, and overall costs. The pandemic-related lockdowns in China we experienced in the first half of the fiscal period alleviated somewhat in the second half of the fiscal period. The challenging supply chain environment moderated our full-year revenue growth, elevated costs, and delayed certain unit shipments, resulting in part in a higher level of backlog and related inventory at the end of the current period as compared to the end of the prior-year period.
To address the challenging supply chain environment, we are taking proactive measures such as guiding certain customer demand to specific products, enhancing component engineering design, and multi-sourcing with indirect procurement. We expect the supply chain environment to continue to present challenges in the near term.
Additionally, we are experiencing a challenging foreign exchange environment, which has moderated our revenue and earnings growth. We expect the unfavorable foreign exchange effects and inflationary trend to continue in the longer term. We expect the substantial completion of our HPE Next and cost optimization and prioritization restructuring plans coupled with related cost reduction measures, and operational efficiencies, to moderate the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange effects and inflationary pressures in fiscal 2023.
Russia/Ukraine Conflict
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions imposed by the U.S., European Union ("EU"), and other countries in response have negatively impacted our operations in both countries and increased economic and political uncertainty across the world. In response to the sanctions imposed, in February 2022, we suspended all new sales and shipments to Russia and Belarus and implemented compliance measures to address the continuously changing regulatory landscape. Based on a further assessment of business risks and needs, in June 2022, we determined that it is no longer tenable to maintain operations in Russia and Belarus and have been proceeding with an orderly, managed exit of our remaining business in these countries.
In fiscal 2021, our operations in Russia and Belarus accounted for approximately 2% of our total net revenue. During fiscal 2022, we recorded total pre-tax charges of $161 million primarily related to expected credit losses of financing and trade receivables, employee severance, and abandoned assets, $99 million of which was included in Financing cost, $12 million in Cost of services, and $50 million in Disaster charges in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.
We will continue monitoring the social, political, regulatory, and economic environment in Russia and Ukraine, and will consider further actions as appropriate. More broadly, there could be additional adverse impacts to our net revenues, earnings, and cash flows should the situation continue or escalate geopolitical tensions and the impacts of recession, inflation, and supply chain pressures, both regionally and globally.
Recent U.S. Tax Legislation
On August 16, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “Inflation Reduction Act”) into law. The Inflation Reduction Act includes a new corporate alternative minimum tax (the “Corporate AMT”) of 15% on the adjusted financial statement income (“AFSI”) of corporations with average AFSI exceeding $1.0 billion over a three-year period. The Corporate AMT is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal 2024. We are evaluating the Corporate AMT and its potential impact on our future U.S. tax expense, cash taxes, and effective tax rate. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act imposes an excise tax of 1% tax on the fair market value of net stock repurchases made after December 31, 2022. The impact of this provision will be dependent on the extent of share repurchases made in future periods.
Other Trends and Uncertainties
We are in the process of addressing many challenges facing our business. One set of challenges include dynamic and accelerating market trends, such as the market shift of workloads to cloud-related information technology ("IT") infrastructure business models, emergence of software-defined architectures and converged infrastructure functionality, and growth in IT consumption models. Certain of our legacy hardware server and storage businesses face challenges as customers migrate to cloud-based offerings and reduce their purchases of hardware products. Therefore, the demand environment for traditional server and storage products is challenging, and lower traditional compute and storage unit volume is impacting support attach opportunities within the associated services organization.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Another set of challenges relates to changes in the competitive landscape. Our major competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions, our business-specific competitors are exerting increased competitive pressure in targeted areas and are entering new markets, our emerging competitors are introducing new technologies and business models, and our alliance partners in some businesses are increasingly becoming our competitors.
A third set of challenges relates to business model changes and our go-to-market execution. We provide our customers with a choice between traditional consumption models or software consumption-based, pay-per-use and as-a-service offerings across our entire portfolio of HPE products and services.
Additionally, the global pandemic has accelerated several trends relevant to the Company. First, the exponential increase of data at the edge driven by the proliferation of devices. Second, the need for a cloud experience everywhere to manage the growth of data at the edge. Third, data growth is creating new opportunities with the need to quickly extract value from the captured data. Enterprises have embraced multi-cloud strategies, as they recognize the need for different cloud environments for different types of data and workloads. Increasingly, customers want to digitally transform, while preserving capital and eliminating operating expense, by paying only for the IT they use.
In response to the aforementioned challenges, we are accelerating our development and innovation efforts in the areas of our strategic focus, including the Intelligent Edge and HPC & AI businesses, while at the same time, strengthening our core Compute and Storage businesses, by investing in key areas of growth and accelerating our as-a-service pivot to become the edge-to-cloud company for our customers and partners with our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform.
During the fiscal period, we announced significant advancements to our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, our flagship hybrid offering that enables organizations to modernize all their applications and data, from edge to cloud and supports multi-cloud experiences everywhere – including clouds that live on-premises, at the edge, in a colocation facility, and in a public cloud. The platform advancements included a unified operating experience with one view of all services edge to cloud along with convergence with the Aruba Central cloud service, twelve new cloud services including network as-a-service, data services, high performance computing functions, compute operations management, and availability of the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform in the online marketplaces of several leading distributors. We also launched HPE GreenLake for Private Cloud Enterprise, which is a private cloud experience for traditional and cloud-native workloads. These updates strengthen the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform and help customers drive their data modernization needs.
The following Executive Overview, Results of Operations and Liquidity discussions and analysis compare fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2021, unless otherwise noted. The Capital Resources and, Cash Requirements and Commitments sections present information as of October 31, 2022, unless otherwise noted.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Net revenue of $28.5 billion represented an increase of 2.6% (increased 5.1% on a constant currency basis) as robust demand reflected by a high order backlog was moderated by a combination of unfavorable currency fluctuations, ongoing supply chain constraints, and lower revenue from Russia. The net revenue increase was led by effective pricing management in server products and strong demand for networking products. The gross profit margin of 33.4% (or $9.5 billion) represents a decrease of 0.3 percentage points and was primarily driven by a combination of supply chain constraints and related cost increases, higher costs in HPC & AI, and unfavorable currency fluctuations. Moderating the gross profit decrease was pricing discipline and strong cost management in server products. The operating profit margin of 2.7%, represents a decrease of 1.4 percentage points primarily due to goodwill impairment charges for the HPC & AI and Software businesses. The decrease in operating profit margin was primarily moderated by lower transformation costs. We generated $4.6 billion of cash flow from operations and $1.8 billion of free cash flows primarily due to improved working capital management.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | |||||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 28,496 | $ | 27,784 | 2.6% | ||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 9,506 | $ | 9,376 | 1.4% | ||||||
| Gross profit margin | 33.4 | % | 33.7 | % | (0.3)pts | ||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 782 | $ | 1,132 | (30.9)% | ||||||
| Operating profit margin | 2.7 | % | 4.1 | % | (1.4)pts | ||||||
| Net earnings | $ | 868 | $ | 3,427 | (74.7)% | ||||||
| Diluted net earnings per share | $ | 0.66 | $ | 2.58 | $(1.92) | ||||||
| Cash flow from operations | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | (21.8)% |
The following table summarizes our consolidated non-GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | |||||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||||
| Net revenue adjusted for currency | $ | 29,213 | $ | 27,784 | 5.1% | ||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,667 | $ | 9,424 | 2.6% | ||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit margin | 33.9 | % | 33.9 | % | —pts | ||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,026 | $ | 2,848 | 6.3% | ||||||
| Non-GAAP operating profit margin | 10.6 | % | 10.3 | % | 0.3pts | ||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,664 | $ | 2,602 | 2.4% | ||||||
| Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share | $ | 2.02 | $ | 1.96 | $0.06 | ||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 1,794 | $ | 1,551 | $243 |
Each non-GAAP financial measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure herein. Please refer to the section "GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations" included in this MD&A for these reconciliations, usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures, and material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
Annualized Revenue Run-rate ("ARR")
Our pivot to as-a-service continues its strong momentum with the addition of HPE GreenLake Cloud Services. Our mix of ARR is becoming more software-rich as we build our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, which is improving our margin profile. On the innovation front, we announced a transformative new data storage services platform that brings our cloud operations model to wherever data lives by unifying data operations. The platform will be available through HPE GreenLake Central and includes a new data services cloud console and a suite of software subscription services that simplifies and automates global infrastructure at scale. We will continue to invest aggressively in HPE GreenLake Cloud Services to provide a true cloud experience and operating model, whether at the edge, on-premises or across multiple clouds.
ARR represents the annualized revenue of all net HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income from operating leases and interest income from finance leases), and software-as-a-service, software consumption revenue, and other as-a-service offerings, recognized during a quarter and multiplied by four. We use ARR as a performance metric. ARR should be viewed independently of net revenue and is not intended to be combined with it.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The following presents our ARR as of October 31, 2022 and 2021:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| In millions | ||||||
| ARR | $ | 936 | $ | 796 | ||
| Year-over-year growth rate | 17 | % | 36 | % |
The 17% year over year increase in ARR represents growth from our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform and related financial services. The growth in the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform was due to an expanding customer installed base moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations, supply chain constraints and related installation delays. At the segment level, the growth is led by Storage as-a-service including Zerto and Intelligent Edge as-a-service activity.
Returning capital to our shareholders remains an important part of our capital allocation framework, which also consists of strategic investments. We believe our existing balance of cash and cash equivalents, along with commercial paper and other short-term liquidity arrangements, are sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital asset purchases, dividends, debt repayments, and other liquidity requirements associated with our existing operations. As of October 31, 2022, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $4.76 billion, compared to $4.33 billion as of October 31, 2021, representing an increase of $0.43 billion.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), which requires us to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. A summary of significant accounting policies and a summary of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Note 1, "Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II. An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if the nature of the estimate or assumption it incorporates is subject to material level of judgment related to matters that are highly uncertain and changes in those estimates and assumptions are reasonably likely to materially impact our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.
We believe the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into contracts with customers that may include combinations of products and services, resulting in arrangements containing multiple performance obligations for hardware and software products and/or various services.
The majority of our revenue is derived from sales of products and services and the associated support and maintenance, and such revenue is recognized when, or as, control of promised products or services is transferred to the customer at the transaction price. Transaction price is adjusted for variable consideration which may be offered in contracts with customers, partners, and distributors and may include rebates, volume-based discounts, cooperative marketing, price protection, and other incentive programs.
Significant judgment is applied in determining the transaction price as we may be required to estimate variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition. When determining the amount of revenue to recognize, we estimate the expected usage of these programs, applying the expected value or most likely estimate and update the estimate at each reporting period as actual utilization becomes available. Variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur. We also consider the customers' right of return in determining the transaction price, where applicable.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
To recognize revenue for the products and services for which control has been transferred, we allocate the transaction price for the contract among the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price ("SSP") basis. We establish SSP for most of our products and services based on the observable price of the products or services when sold separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. When the SSP is not directly observable, we estimate SSP based on management judgment by considering available data, such as internal margin objectives, pricing strategies, market/competitive conditions, historical profitability data, as well as other observable inputs. We establish SSP ranges for our products and services and reassesses them periodically.
Taxes on Earnings
We calculate our current and deferred tax provisions based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the final positions reflected in our income tax returns. We adjust our current and deferred tax provisions based on our tax returns which are generally filed in the third or fourth quarters of the subsequent fiscal year.
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which we expect the differences to reverse.
We record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that we are more likely than not to realize. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider future market growth, forecasted earnings, future sources of taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income in the jurisdictions in which the deferred tax assets are located.
Our effective tax rate includes the impact of certain undistributed foreign earnings and basis differences for which we have not provided for U.S. federal taxes because we plan to reinvest such earnings and basis differences indefinitely outside the U.S. We will remit non-indefinitely reinvested earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which deferred U.S. state income and foreign withholding taxes have been provided where excess cash has accumulated and when we determine that it is advantageous for business operations, tax, or cash management reasons.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and approximately 90 other countries, and we are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in many of these jurisdictions. We believe that positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, which may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, our income tax provision includes amounts intended to satisfy assessments that may result from these challenges. Determining the income tax provision for these potential assessments and recording the related effects requires management judgments and estimates. The amounts ultimately paid on resolution of an audit could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our (Provision) benefit for taxes, Net earnings (loss) and cash flows. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our international operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions and related interest, and uncertain tax positions from acquired companies. For further discussion on taxes on earnings, refer to Note 6, "Taxes on Earnings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Goodwill
We review goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level annually on the first day of the fourth quarter, or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. We are permitted to conduct a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test.
As of October 31, 2022, our reporting units with goodwill are consistent with the reportable segments identified in Note 2, "Segment Information" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, with the exception of Corporate Investments and Other which contains three reporting units, Software, CMS and A & PS.
When performing the goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount. An impairment exists if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Estimating the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a weighting of fair values derived mostly from the income approach and, to a lesser extent, the market approach, with the exception of the Software reporting unit which uses a weighting derived mostly from the market approach. Under the income approach, the fair value of a reporting unit is based on discounted cash flow analysis of management's short-term and long-term forecast of operating performance. This analysis includes significant assumptions
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
regarding revenue growth rates, expected operating margins, and timing of expected future cash flows based on market conditions and customer acceptances. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital of comparable public companies adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit's ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, the fair value is based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly traded companies with operating and investment characteristics similar to the reporting unit. We weight the fair value derived from the market approach commensurate with the level of comparability of these publicly traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using the income approach. In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit.
Our fiscal 2022 annual goodwill impairment analysis resulted in impairment charges for goodwill related to the HPC & AI and Software reporting units. There was no impairment of goodwill for our other reporting units.
The decline in the fair value of the HPC & AI reporting unit below its carrying value resulted from changes in expected future cash flows as compared to our fiscal 2021 long-term plan due to the continuation of supply chain constraints, and other operational challenges as well as an increase in cost of capital. Prior to the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we tested the recoverability of long-lived assets and other assets of the HPC & AI reporting unit and concluded that such assets were not impaired. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $815 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
The HPC & AI reporting unit has remaining goodwill allocated of $2.9 billion as of October 31, 2022 and an excess of fair value over carrying value of net assets of 0% as of the annual test date. The HPC & AI business is facing challenges reflected in the results for the year ended October 31, 2022. The challenges are primarily related to supply chain constraints and other operational challenges impacting our ability to achieve certain customer acceptance milestones required for revenue recognition and resulting cost increases associated with fulfilling contracts over longer than originally anticipated timelines. We currently believe these challenges will be successfully addressed when supply chain constraints ease. If the global macroeconomic or geopolitical conditions worsen, projected revenue growth rates or operating margins decline, weighted average cost of capital increases, or if we have significant or sustained decline in our stock price, it is possible our estimates about the HPC & AI reporting unit's ability to successfully address the current challenges may change, which could result in the carrying value of the HPC & AI reporting unit exceeding its estimated fair value and potential impairment charges.
The decline in the fair value of the Software reporting unit resulted primarily from a decline in market multiples. Prior to the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we tested the recoverability of long-lived assets and other assets of the Software reporting unit and concluded that such assets were not impaired. As a result, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $90 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
The Software reporting unit has remaining goodwill allocated of $123 million as of October 31, 2022 and an excess of fair value over carrying value of net assets of 0% as of the annual test date. As noted above, the Software reporting unit relies significantly on the market approach, which is impacted by market volatility. If global macroeconomic or geopolitical conditions worsen and cause a further decline in equity market or if revenue expectations are not met, this could result in the carrying value of the Software reporting unit exceeding its estimated fair value and potential impairment charges.
The excess of fair value over carrying amount for our reporting units, excluding HPC & AI and Software, ranged from approximately 22% to 142% of the respective carrying amounts. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the estimated fair value of our other reporting units in the goodwill impairment test, we applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of each reporting unit. Based on the results of this hypothetical 10% decrease, all of the other reporting units had an excess of fair value over carrying amount.
Contingencies
We are subject to the possibility of losses from various contingencies. Significant judgment is necessary to estimate the probability and amount of a loss, if any, from such contingencies. An accrual is made when it is probable that a liability has been incurred or an asset has been impaired and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. We review these matters at least quarterly and adjust these liabilities to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other updated information and events, pertaining to a particular case.
Based on our experience, we believe that any damage amounts claimed in the specific litigation and contingency matters further discussed in Note 17, "Litigation and Contingencies", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, are
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
not a meaningful indicator of our potential liability. Litigation is inherently unpredictable. However, we believe we have valid defenses with respect to legal matters pending against us. Nevertheless, cash flows or results of operations could be materially affected in any particular period by the resolution of one or more of these contingencies. We believe we have recorded adequate provisions for any such matters and, as of October 31, 2022, it was not reasonably possible that a material loss had been incurred in connection with such matters in excess of the amounts recognized in our financial statements.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Revenue from our international operations has historically represented, and we expect will continue to represent, a majority of our overall net revenue. As a result, our revenue growth has been impacted, and we expect will continue to be impacted, by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. In order to provide a framework for assessing performance excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, we present the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a constant currency basis, which assumes no change in foreign currency exchange rates from the prior-year period and does not adjust for any repricing or demand impacts from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. This change in revenue on a constant currency basis is calculated as the quotient of (a) current year revenue converted to U.S. dollars using the prior-year period's foreign currency exchange rates divided by (b) the prior-year period revenue. This information is provided so that revenue can be viewed without the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which is consistent with how management evaluates our revenue results and trends. This constant currency disclosure is provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a GAAP basis. Other companies may calculate and define similarly labeled items differently, which may limit the usefulness of this measure for comparative purposes.
Results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 28,496 | 100.0 | % | $ | 27,784 | 100.0 | % | $ | 26,982 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of sales | 18,990 | 66.6 | % | 18,408 | 66.3 | % | 18,513 | 68.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 9,506 | 33.4 | % | 9,376 | 33.7 | % | 8,469 | 31.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 2,045 | 7.2 | % | 1,979 | 7.1 | % | 1,874 | 6.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 4,941 | 17.3 | % | 4,929 | 17.7 | % | 4,624 | 17.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 293 | 1.0 | % | 354 | 1.3 | % | 379 | 1.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 905 | 3.2 | % | — | — | % | 865 | 3.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 473 | 1.7 | % | 930 | 3.3 | % | 950 | 3.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Disaster charges | 48 | 0.2 | % | 16 | 0.1 | % | 26 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 19 | 0.1 | % | 36 | 0.1 | % | 80 | 0.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations | 782 | 2.7 | % | 1,132 | 4.1 | % | (329) | (1.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Interest and other, net | (188) | (0.7) | % | (211) | (0.8) | % | (215) | (0.8) | % | |||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and related adjustments | (67) | (0.2) | % | 65 | 0.2 | % | (101) | (0.4) | % | |||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit credit | 134 | 0.5 | % | 70 | 0.3 | % | 136 | 0.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | — | — | % | 2,351 | 8.5 | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests | 215 | 0.8 | % | 180 | 0.6 | % | 67 | 0.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) before taxes | 876 | 3.1 | % | 3,587 | 12.9 | % | (442) | (1.6) | % | |||||||||||
| (Provision) benefit for taxes | (8) | (0.1) | % | (160) | (0.6) | % | 120 | 0.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Net earnings (loss) | $ | 868 | 3.0 | % | $ | 3,427 | 12.3 | % | $ | (322) | (1.2) | % |
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
Net revenue
In fiscal 2022, total net revenue of $28.5 billion, increased by $0.7 billion, or 2.6% (increased 5.1% on a constant currency basis). U.S. net revenue increased by $0.6 billion or 6.5% to $9.4 billion, while net revenue from outside of the U.S. increased by $0.1 billion or 0.7% to $19.1 billion.
From a segment perspective, net revenue increased across many of our segments due to the improved demand environment led by revenue growth of 11%, 4%, and 0.3% in Intelligent Edge, Compute, and HPC & AI, respectively, and decreased 7%, 2%, 1% in Corporate Investments and Other, Financial Services, and Storage, respectively.
The components of the weighted net revenue change by segment were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
| Percentage Points | ||||
| Compute | 1.6 | — | ||
| HPC & AI | 0.1 | 0.3 | ||
| Storage | (0.1) | 0.3 | ||
| Intelligent Edge | 1.3 | 1.6 | ||
| Financial Services | (0.2) | 0.2 | ||
| Corporate Investments and Other | (0.4) | 0.2 | ||
| Total segment | 2.3 | 2.6 | ||
| Elimination of intersegment net revenue | 0.3 | 0.4 | ||
| Total HPE | 2.6 | 3.0 |
Gross Profit
For the twelve months ended October 31, 2022, the total gross profit margin of 33.4%, represents a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily driven by a combination of supply chain constraints and related cost increases, higher costs in HPC & AI, and unfavorable currency fluctuations, with costs from expected credit losses related to exiting our Russia and Belarus businesses adding to the overall decline. Moderating the gross profit decrease was pricing discipline and strong cost management in server products.
Operating expenses
Research and development ("R&D")
R&D expense increased by $66 million, or 3% due primarily to higher overall employee compensation expense, which contributed 1.8 percentage points to the change, and a combination of higher facilities expense, training and travel expenses, and software expenditures, which in total contributed 1.3 percentage points to the change.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A")
SG&A expense increased by $12 million, or 0.2% due primarily to higher travel expense as the economy reopens and COVID-19 restrictions ease, higher software expenditures, and the release of bad debt reserves in the prior-year period, which contributed 1.2 percentage points, 0.5 percentage points and 0.3 percentage points to the change, respectively. The increase was partially offset by a combination of lower employee cost driven by lower variable compensation expense and cost savings from our transformation programs which in total contributed 1.9 percentage points to the change. Additionally, the overall increase in SG&A expense was moderated across various expense categories by favorable currency fluctuations.
Amortization of intangible assets
Amortization expense decreased by $61 million, or 17% due to certain intangible assets associated with prior acquisitions reaching the end of their amortization periods moderated by an increase in amortization expense in the current period resulting
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
from recent acquisitions. Additionally, the decrease in the current fiscal period was due to certain write-offs taken in the prior fiscal period.
Impairment of goodwill
Impairment of goodwill for fiscal 2022 represents a partial goodwill impairment charge of $905 million recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, as it was determined that the fair value of the HPC & AI and Software reporting units was below the carrying value of their net assets. Refer to Note 11, "Goodwill and Intangible Assets" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II for more information.
Transformation programs and costs
Our transformation programs consist of the cost optimization and prioritization plan (launched in 2020) and the HPE Next initiative (launched in 2017).
Transformation costs decreased by $457 million, or 49% due primarily to lower restructuring charges recorded in the current fiscal period as restructuring actions related to employee severance, infrastructure, and other under the cost optimization and prioritization plan are approaching completion primarily in fiscal 2023. For a further discussion, refer to Note 3, “Transformation Programs" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Interest and other, net
Interest and other, net expense decreased by $23 million due primarily to early debt redemption costs incurred in the prior-year period, while in the current-year period a combination of higher gains from the sale of certain assets, lower interest expense from lower average borrowings, and increased interest income from higher interest rates contributed to the net expense decline. This decline was moderated by the current period containing lower gains from equity investments and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments
We record changes in certain pre-separation tax liabilities for which we shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we were indemnified under the Termination and Mutual Release Agreement within Tax indemnification and related adjustments. We also record changes to certain pre-separation and pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables for which we remain liable on behalf of the separated or divested business, but which may not be subject to indemnification.
We recorded Tax indemnification and related adjustments expense of $67 million and income of $65 million in fiscal 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments in fiscal 2022 resulted from changes in certain pre-separation tax liabilities, for which we partially shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we were indemnified under the Termination and Mutual Release Agreement, and changes to certain pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments in fiscal 2021 primarily included the impacts of a Brazilian Supreme Court decision received regarding the base on which two social contribution taxes in Brazil ("PIS" and "COFINS") are imposed. As a result of this decision, the Company is entitled to recover credits and associated interest related to the overpayment of these transaction taxes imposed between 2005 and 2019 to be used to offset future Brazilian tax liabilities. As such, we have recorded benefits of $17 million and $80 million, both net of taxes, for the recovery of PIS and COFINS, respectively, during fiscal 2021, of which $25 million was included in Net revenue, $10 million related to interest income was included in Interest and other, net, and $80 million related to pre-separation liabilities was included in Tax indemnification and related adjustments. The corresponding income taxes of $18 million as a result of this recovery were included in (Provision) benefit for taxes in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings.
Non-service net periodic benefit credit
Non-service net periodic benefit credit represents the components of net periodic pension benefit costs, other than service cost, for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise defined benefit pension and post-retirement benefit plans such as interest cost, expected return on plan assets, and the amortization of prior plan amendments and actuarial gains or losses. The credit also includes the impact of any plan settlements, curtailments, or special termination benefits.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Non-service net periodic benefit credit increased by $64 million due primarily to lower amortized actuarial losses, partially offset by higher interest cost due to higher discount rates and lower expected returns on assets in the current period.
Litigation judgment
Litigation judgment represents the $2.35 billion settlement we received in October 2021 in relation to the Itanium litigation judgment. The gain was recognized as other income and presented as a Litigation judgment in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings in the prior-year period. For further discussion, refer to Note 17, “Litigation and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Earnings from equity interests
Earnings from equity interests primarily represents our 49% interest in H3C Technologies and the amortization of our interest in a basis difference. Earnings from equity interests increased by $35 million due primarily to lower amortization expense from basis difference and higher net income earned by H3C in the current period, partially offset by gains from certain venture investments in the prior-year period.
(Provision) benefit for taxes
For fiscal 2022 and 2021, we recorded income tax expense of $8 million and $160 million, respectively, which reflect effective tax rates of 0.9% and 4.5%, respectively. Our effective tax rate generally differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from our operations in lower tax jurisdictions throughout the world but may also be materially impacted by discrete tax adjustments during the fiscal year. Our tax rate for fiscal 2022 also included the effects of the non-deductible goodwill impairment. The jurisdictions with favorable tax rates that had the most significant impact on our effective tax rate in the periods presented include Puerto Rico and Singapore.
In fiscal 2022, we recorded $454 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$150 million of income tax benefits related to releases of foreign valuation allowances,
•$99 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges,
•$43 million of income tax benefits related to the settlement of U.S. tax audit matters,
•$42 million of income tax benefits related to the release of U.S. passive foreign tax credit valuation allowance,
•$30 million of income tax benefits related to the change in pre-separation tax liabilities, primarily those for which the Company shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which the Company was indemnified by HP Inc.
•$27 million of income tax benefits related to the utilization of capital losses which had a full valuation allowance,
•$12 million of income tax benefits as a result of the fiscal 2021 U.S. tax return filing primarily from the decrease in Global Intangible Low Taxed Income, and
•$11 million of net income tax benefits related to settlements and ongoing discussions in foreign tax audit matters.
In fiscal 2021, we recorded $294 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$180 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs and acquisition, disposition and other related charges,
•$157 million of income tax benefits related to releases of foreign valuation allowances,
•$39 million of income tax benefits related to tax rate changes on deferred taxes,
•$32 million of income tax benefits related to the change in pre-separation tax liabilities, primarily those for which we shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we were indemnified by HP Inc.
•These benefits were partially offset by $337 million of net income tax charges associated with income from the Itanium litigation judgment, against which $244 million of income tax attributes previously subject to a valuation allowance were utilized, resulting in a net tax expense of $93 million.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Segment Information
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's organizational structure is based on a number of factors that the Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM"), who is the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), uses to evaluate, view and run our business operations, which include, but are not limited to, customer base and homogeneity of products and technology. The segments are based on this organizational structure and information reviewed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's management to evaluate segment results.
A description of the products and services for each segment, along with other pertinent information related to Segments can be found in Note 2, "Segment Information", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Segment Results
The following provides an overview of our key financial metrics by segment for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021:
| HPE Consolidated | Compute | HPC & AI | Storage | Intelligent Edge | Financial Services | CorporateInvestments and Other | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue(1) | $ | 28,496 | $ | 12,742 | $ | 3,192 | $ | 4,711 | $ | 3,674 | $ | 3,339 | $ | 1,255 | ||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change % | 2.6 | % | 3.7 | % | 0.3 | % | (1.0) | % | 11.3 | % | (1.8) | % | (7.4) | % | ||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations(2) | $ | 782 | $ | 1,780 | $ | 11 | $ | 682 | $ | 549 | $ | 399 | $ | (92) | ||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations as a % of net revenue | 2.7 | % | 14.0 | % | 0.3 | % | 14.5 | % | 14.9 | % | 11.9 | % | (7.3) | % | ||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change percentage points | (1.4) | pts | 3.2 | pts | (7.0) | pts | (1.8) | pts | (0.5) | pts | 0.4 | pts | (0.3) | pts |
(1)HPE consolidated net revenue excludes inter-segment net revenue.
(2)Segment earnings from operations exclude certain unallocated corporate costs and eliminations, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of initial direct costs, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges and acquisition, disposition and other related charges.
Compute
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 12,742 | $ | 12,284 | $ | 12,274 | 3.7 | % | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,780 | $ | 1,323 | $ | 1,002 | 34.5 | % | 32.0 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 14.0 | % | 10.8 | % | 8.2 | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
Compute net revenue increased by $458 million, or 3.7% (increased 6.0% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to higher average unit prices resulting from a combination of increased sales of server configurations with more complex component architectures in our next generation products and disciplined pricing actions. The net revenue increase was moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations and lower unit shipments resulting from supply constraints due to the challenging supply chain environment. As a result, we ended the period with a high level of order backlog.
Compute experienced product revenue growth in the rack and synergy server categories moderated by a revenue decline due to certain products approaching their end-of-life. Services net revenue declined primarily due to lower revenue from Russia and the impact of delayed hardware shipments on services contracts.
Compute earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 3.2 percentage points due to decreases in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to pricing discipline and strong cost management partially offset by unfavorable currency fluctuations and the impact of supply chain constraints and related costs.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to cost reduction measures and lower variable compensation expense.
HPC & AI
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,192 | $ | 3,184 | $ | 3,102 | 0.3 | % | 2.6 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 11 | $ | 231 | $ | 282 | (95.2) | % | (18.1) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 0.3 | % | 7.3 | % | 9.1 | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
HPC & AI net revenue increased by $8 million or 0.3% (increased 1.9% on a constant currency basis) as a result of growth in HPC led by Converged Edge Systems (formerly known as Edge Compute) and in Data Solutions. The increase was moderated by a decline in net revenue from HPE Cray products as a result of supply chain constraints and other operational challenges impacting the achievement of certain customer acceptance milestones required for revenue recognition. The increase in net revenue was also moderated by lower services revenue due primarily to an unfavorable portfolio mix of service offerings and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
HPC & AI earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 7.0 percentage points primarily due to increases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to higher operational costs, supply chain constraints and related cost increases, and lower revenue from higher-margin services. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to higher investments in research and development which focus on high-performance computing and AI solutions, including integrating such solutions into our HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, partially offset by lower variable compensation expense.
Storage
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 4,711 | $ | 4,760 | $ | 4,682 | (1.0) | % | 1.7 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 682 | $ | 775 | $ | 810 | (12.0) | % | (4.3) | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 14.5 | % | 16.3 | % | 17.3 | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
Storage net revenue decreased by $49 million, or 1.0% (increased 0.5% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to unfavorable currency fluctuations and supply chain constraints. Net revenue declined in Storage products moderated by an increase in Storage services. The decline in Storage products was led by declines in HPE 3PAR, as we transition to its next generation of product platforms, such as HPE Alletra and HPE Primera products, and lower traditional storage revenue. The increase in Storage services was led by Zerto Services and higher subscription services as we continue our transition to more services-intensive, and software-rich offerings, partially offset by lower support services revenue.
Storage earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 1.8 percentage points as cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue remained unchanged and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue increased. Cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue remained unchanged as the impact of increased sales of higher- margin Zerto products was moderated by supply chain constraints and related costs, which unfavorably impacted the mix of certain higher-margin products, and unfavorable currency fluctuations. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to higher investments in research and development and SG&A, focused on as-a-service offerings, partially offset by lower variable compensation expense.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Intelligent Edge
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,674 | $ | 3,302 | $ | 2,872 | 11.3 | % | 15.0 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 549 | $ | 509 | $ | 346 | 7.9 | % | 47.1 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 14.9 | % | 15.4 | % | 12.0 | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
Intelligent Edge net revenue increased by $372 million, or 11.3% (increased 14.0% on a constant currency basis) primarily due to a robust demand environment, reflected in a high backlog, which continues to be impacted by supply constraints resulting from a challenging supply chain environment. Net revenue increased in both Intelligent Edge products and services but was moderated by unfavorable currency fluctuations. The increase in product revenue was primarily driven by the wireless local area network ("WLAN") business, partially offset by declines in the Switching business due to material constraints. Growth in services revenue was led by higher attached support services and our as-a-service offerings.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 0.5 percentage points primarily due to an increase in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue partially offset by a decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was primarily due to supply chain constraints and related costs and unfavorable currency fluctuations. Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue decreased primarily due to lower variable compensation expense and an increase in the scale of net revenue.
Financial Services
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,339 | $ | 3,401 | $ | 3,352 | (1.8) | % | 1.5 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 399 | $ | 390 | $ | 284 | 2.3 | % | 37.3 | % | |||||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 11.9 | % | 11.5 | % | 8.5 | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
FS net revenue decreased by $62 million, or 1.8% (increased 1.7% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to unfavorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by higher asset management revenue from pre-owned equipment sales, lease buyouts, and remarketing equipment sales.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 0.4 percentage points due primarily to lower cost of services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease to cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulted primarily from a combination of lower depreciation expense and bad debt. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower employee cost driven by lower variable compensation expense.
The provision for expected credit losses due to the Company's exit from its Russia and Belarus businesses for the year ended October 31, 2022, was excluded from segment operating results.
Financing Volume
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Financing volume | $ | 6,252 | $ | 6,168 | $ | 6,005 |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Financing volume, which represents the amount of financing provided to customers for equipment and related software and services, including intercompany activity, increased by 1.4% in fiscal 2022 as compared to the prior-year period. The increase was primarily driven by higher financing associated with third-party product sales and related service offerings, partially offset by unfavorable currency fluctuations and lower financing of HPE product sales and related service offerings.
Portfolio Assets and Ratios
The FS business model is asset intensive and uses certain internal metrics to measure its performance against other financial services companies, including a segment balance sheet that is derived from our internal management reporting system. The accounting policies used to derive FS amounts are substantially the same as those used by the Company. However, intercompany loans and certain accounts that are reflected in the segment balances are eliminated in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The portfolio assets and ratios derived from the segment balance sheets for FS were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| Financing receivables, gross | $ | 8,359 | $ | 9,198 | ||
| Net equipment under operating leases | 4,103 | 4,001 | ||||
| Capitalized profit on intercompany equipment transactions(1) | 241 | 275 | ||||
| Intercompany leases(1) | 97 | 96 | ||||
| Gross portfolio assets | 12,800 | 13,570 | ||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts(2) | 222 | 228 | ||||
| Operating lease equipment reserve | 44 | 39 | ||||
| Total reserves | 266 | 267 | ||||
| Net portfolio assets | $ | 12,534 | $ | 13,303 | ||
| Reserve coverage | 2.1 | % | 2.0 | % | ||
| Debt-to-equity ratio(3) | 7.0x | 7.0x |
(1)Intercompany activity is eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Allowance for credit losses for financing receivables includes both the short- and long-term portions.
(3)Debt benefiting FS consists of intercompany equity that is treated as debt for segment reporting purposes, intercompany debt, and borrowing- and funding-related activity associated with FS and its subsidiaries. Debt benefiting FS totaled $11.5 billion and $11.9 billion at October 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and was determined by applying an assumed debt-to-equity ratio, which management believes to be comparable to that of other similar financing companies. FS equity at October 31, 2022 and 2021, was $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.
As of October 31, 2022 and 2021, FS net cash and cash equivalents were $923 million and $898 million, respectively.
Net portfolio assets as of October 31, 2022 decreased 5.8% from October 31, 2021. The decrease generally resulted from unfavorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by new financing volume exceeding portfolio runoff during the period.
FS bad debt expense includes charges to general reserves, specific reserves and write-offs for sales-type, direct-financing and operating leases. FS recorded net bad debt expense of $82 million, $95 million and $93 million in fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
As of October 31, 2022, FS experienced a decrease in billed finance receivables compared to October 31, 2021, which included a limited impact to collections from customers as a result of the pandemic, and customers from Russia. We are currently unable to fully predict the extent to which the pandemic and our exit from Russia and Belarus businesses may adversely impact future collections of our receivables.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Corporate Investments and Other
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2022 vs 2021 % Change | 2021 vs 2020 % Change | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | |||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 1,255 | $ | 1,356 | $ | 1,298 | (7.4) | % | 4.5 | % | |||||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (92) | $ | (95) | $ | (206) | 3.2 | % | 53.9 | % | |||||||
| Loss from operations as a % of net revenue | (7.3) | % | (7.0) | % | (15.9) | % |
Fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue decreased by $101 million, or 7.4% (decreased 0.4% on a constant currency basis) due to unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 0.3 percentage points due primarily to lower cost of services as a percentage of net revenue and an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to improved service delivery efficiencies in A & PS and lower variable compensation expense largely offset by a lower mix of higher margin license revenue in Software. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to the scale of the net revenue decline partially offset by lower variable compensation expense.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Overview
We use cash generated by operations as our primary source of liquidity. We believe that internally generated cash flows will be generally sufficient to support our operating businesses, capital expenditures, product development initiatives, acquisitions and disposal activities including legal settlements, restructuring activities, transformation costs, indemnifications, maturing debt, interest payments, and income tax payments, in addition to any future investments, share repurchases, and stockholder dividend payments. We expect to supplement this short-term liquidity, if necessary, by accessing the capital markets, issuing commercial paper, and borrowing under credit facilities made available by various domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, our access to capital markets may be constrained and our cost of borrowing may increase under certain business, market and economic conditions. We anticipate that the funds made available and cash generated from operations along with our access to capital markets will be sufficient to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve months and for the foreseeable future thereafter. We continue to monitor the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the U.S. and other global economies, the capital markets, consumer behavior, our businesses, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Our liquidity is subject to various risks including the risks identified in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Item 1A and market risks identified in the section entitled "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" in Item 7A.
Our cash balances are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with a substantial amount held outside the U.S as of October 31, 2022. We utilize a variety of planning and financing strategies in an effort to ensure that our worldwide cash is available when and where it is needed.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support our non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations of amounts held outside the U.S. generally will not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective, but may be subject to state income or foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through ongoing cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on the repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
In connection with the share repurchase program previously authorized by our Board of Directors, during fiscal 2022, we repurchased and settled an aggregate amount of $0.5 billion. As of October 31, 2022, we had a remaining authorization of $1.4 billion for future share repurchases. For more information on our share repurchase program, refer to Note 15, "Stockholders' Equity", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
On April 22, 2022, we entered into an amendment with Unisplendour Corporation (“UNIS”) and H3C Technologies Co. Limited (“H3C”) to the Shareholder Agreement previously entered into between the parties as of May 1, 2016. The amendment extended the Shareholder Agreement to October 31, 2022, the latest date upon which we could put to UNIS all or part of the H3C shares held by us, at a price of 15.0 times the last twelve months net income of H3C.
On October 28, 2022, we entered into a subsequent amendment to the aforementioned Shareholder Agreement to further extend to December 31, 2022, the latest date upon which we may put to UNIS all or part of the H3C shares held by us, at a price of 15.0 times the last twelve months (measured from April 30, 2022) net income of H3C.
Liquidity
Our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, total debt and available borrowing resources were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 4,763 | $ | 4,332 | $ | 4,621 | ||||
| Total debt | $ | 12,465 | $ | 13,448 | $ | 15,941 | ||||
| Available borrowing resources | $ | 6,161 | $ | 6,017 | $ | 6,297 | ||||
| Commercial paper programs(1) | $ | 5,208 | $ | 5,045 | $ | 5,073 | ||||
| Uncommitted lines of credit | $ | 953 | $ | 972 | $ | 1,224 |
(1) The maximum aggregate borrowing amount of the commercial paper programs and revolving credit facility is $5.75 billion.
The tables below represent the way in which management reviews cash flows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (2,087) | (2,796) | (2,578) | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (1,796) | (3,364) | 883 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (279) | — | — | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 431 | $ | (289) | $ | 545 |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $1.3 billion for fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021. The decrease was primarily due to $2.2 billion of after-tax cash resulting from a litigation judgment in the prior-year period, lower variable compensation accruals, and favorable hedging positions moderated by improved working capital and a decrease in financing receivables, as compared to the prior-year period.
Our working capital metrics and cash conversion impacts were as follows:
| As of October 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable ("DSO") | 47 | 49 | 42 | ||||
| Days of supply in inventory ("DOS") | 88 | 82 | 48 | ||||
| Days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable ("DPO") | (149) | (128) | (97) | ||||
| Cash conversion cycle | (14) | 3 | (7) |
The cash conversion cycle is the sum of DSO and DOS less DPO. Items which may cause the cash conversion cycle in a particular period to differ include, but are not limited to, changes in business mix, changes in payment terms (including extended payment terms to customers or from suppliers), early or late invoice payments from customers or to suppliers, the
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
extent of receivables factoring, seasonal trends, the timing of sales and inventory purchases within the period, the impact of commodity costs and acquisition activity.
DSO measures the average number of days our receivables are outstanding. DSO is calculated by dividing ending accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, by a 90-day average of net revenue. For the three-month period ending October 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior-year period, DSO decreased by 2 days due primarily to favorable billings linearity, higher early collections and receivables factoring, partially offset by extended payment terms.
DOS measures the average number of days from procurement to sale of our product. DOS is calculated by dividing ending inventory by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. For the three-month period ending October 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior-year period, DOS increased by 6 days due primarily to higher levels of inventory resulting from a combination of supply chain constraints, positioning of inventory to fulfill planned future shipments, and strategic purchases of certain key components.
DPO measures the average number of days our accounts payable balances are outstanding. DPO is calculated by dividing ending accounts payable by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. For the three-month period ending October 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior-year period, DPO increased by 21 days due primarily to proactive measures we have taken to secure key materials for future shipments and a larger proportion of vendors with longer payment terms.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $0.7 billion in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021. The change was primarily due to a combinaton of lower payments in connection with business acquisitions of $0.5 billion, lower cash utilized in net financial collateral activities of $0.3 billion and higher proceeds from the sale of investments, net of purchases of $0.3 billion, partially offset by higher cash utilized for investment in property, plant and equipment, net of sales proceeds of $0.4 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities decreased by $1.6 billion in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021. The decrease was due primarily to lower net debt repayments of $1.9 billion and higher cash utilized for share repurchases of $0.3 billion, as compared to the prior-year period.
Free Cash Flow
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | ||||
| Litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | — | (2,172) | — | |||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | 4,593 | 3,699 | 2,240 | |||||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | (3,122) | (2,502) | (2,383) | |||||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 602 | 354 | 703 | |||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (279) | — | — | |||||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 1,794 | $ | 1,551 | $ | 560 |
Free cash flow represents cash flow from operations, excluding the impact of $2.2 billion in proceeds received in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 from a one-time Itanium litigation judgment, less net capital expenditures (investments in property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”) less proceeds from the sale of PP&E), and adjusted for the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Free cash flow increased by $0.2 billion in fiscal 2022, as compared to fiscal 2021, due to higher cash generated from operating activities (excluding a one-time litigation judgment) led by improved net working capital management, moderated by increased cash used for investments in property, plant and equipment, net of sales proceeds.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our improved free cash flow and cash position help to ensure we have ample liquidity to run operations, continuing to invest in our business to drive growth and return capital to shareholders.
For more information on the impact from operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Capital Resources
Debt Levels
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Short-term debt | $ | 4,612 | $ | 3,552 | $ | 3,755 | ||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 7,853 | $ | 9,896 | $ | 12,186 | ||||
| Weighted-average interest rate | 4.0 | % | 2.9 | % | 3.2 | % |
We maintain debt levels that we establish through consideration of a number of factors, including cash flow expectations, cash requirements for operations, investment plans (including acquisitions), share repurchase activities, our cost of capital, and targeted capital structure. We maintain a revolving credit facility and two commercial paper programs, "the Parent Programs", and a wholly-owned subsidiary maintains a third program. In December 2021, we terminated our prior senior unsecured revolving credit facility and entered into a new senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an aggregate commitment of $4.75 billion for a period of five years. There have been no changes to our commercial paper programs since October 31, 2021.
In December 2020, we filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows us to sell, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depository shares, purchase contracts, guarantees or units consisting of any of these securities.
As of October 31, 2022 and 2021, no borrowings were outstanding under our revolving credit facility.
As of October 31, 2022 and 2021, no borrowings were outstanding under the Parent Programs, and $542 million and $705 million, respectively, were outstanding under our subsidiary’s program. During fiscal 2022, we issued $3.2 billion and repaid $3.2 billion of commercial paper.
Our weighted-average interest rate reflects the average effective rate on our borrowings prevailing during the period and reflects the impact of interest rate swaps. For more information on our interest rate swaps, see Note 13, "Financial Instruments", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
For more information on our available borrowing resources and the impact of operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 14, "Borrowings", and Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Cash Requirements and Commitments
Long-term debt and interest payments on debt
As of October 31, 2022, future principal payment obligations on our long-term debt including asset-backed debt securities totaled $11.9 billion, of which $3.9 billion is due within one year. As of October 31, 2022, our finance lease obligations, including interest, was $55 million, of which $7 million is to be due within one year. For more information on our debt, see Note 14, "Borrowings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
As of October 31, 2022, future interest payments relating to our long-term debt is estimated to be approximately $3.6 billion, of which $0.5 billion is expected to be due within one year. We use interest rate swaps to mitigate the exposure of our fixed rate debt to changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates, or hedge the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with our variable-rate debt. The impact of our outstanding interest rate swaps as of October 31, 2022 was factored into the calculation of the future interest payments on long-term debt.
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Operating lease obligations
We enter into various leases as a lessee for assets including office buildings, data centers, vehicles, and aviation. As of October 31, 2022, operating lease obligations, net of sublease rental income totaled $1.1 billion, of which $171 million is due within one year. These amounts included uncommenced operating leases as of October 31, 2022, and did not reflect imputed interest adjustments. For more information on our leases, see Note 8, "Accounting for Leases as a Lessee", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Unconditional purchase obligations
Our unconditional purchase obligations are related principally to inventory purchases, software maintenance and support services and other items. Unconditional purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancellable without penalty. As of October 31, 2022, unconditional purchase obligations totaled $1.6 billion, of which $449 million is due within one year. For more information on our unconditional purchase obligations, see Note 19, "Commitments", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Retirement Benefit Plan Funding
In fiscal 2023, we anticipate making contributions of $170 million to our non-U.S. pension plans. Our policy is to fund pension plans to meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by various authorities including local government and taxing authorities. Expected contributions and payments to our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are not considered as contractual obligations because they do not represent contractual cash outflows, as they are dependent on numerous factors which may result in a wide range of outcomes. For more information on our retirement and post-retirement benefit plans, see Note 4, "Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Restructuring Plans
As of October 31, 2022, we expect future cash payments of approximately $460 million in connection with our approved restructuring plans, which includes $330 million expected to be paid in fiscal 2023 and $130 million expected to be paid thereafter. Payments for restructuring activities are not considered as contractual obligations, because they do not represent contractual cash outflows and there is uncertainty as to the timing of these payments. For more information on our restructuring activities, see Note 3, "Transformation Programs", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Uncertain Tax Positions
As of October 31, 2022, we had approximately $297 million of recorded liabilities and related interest and penalties pertaining to uncertain tax positions. These liabilities and related interest and penalties include $29 million expected to be paid within one year. For the remaining amount, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate as to when cash settlement with the tax authorities might occur due to the uncertainties related to these tax matters. Payments of these obligations would result from settlements with taxing authorities. For more information on our uncertain tax positions, see Note 6, "Taxes on Earnings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we have not participated in transactions that generate material relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
We have third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II.
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure for the periods presented:
Reconciliation of GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin to non-GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP Net revenue | $ | 28,496 | 100.0 | % | $ | 27,784 | 100.0 | % | |||||
| GAAP Cost of sales | 18,990 | 66.6 | % | 18,408 | 66.3 | % | |||||||
| GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,506 | 33.4 | % | $ | 9,376 | 33.7 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 4 | — | % | 8 | — | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 46 | 0.1 | % | 40 | 0.2 | % | |||||||
| Disaster charges(1) | 111 | 0.4 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,667 | 33.9 | % | $ | 9,424 | 33.9 | % |
Reconciliation of GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin to non-GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 782 | 2.7 | % | $ | 1,132 | 4.1 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 4 | — | % | 8 | — | % | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 293 | 1.0 | % | 354 | 1.3 | % | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 905 | 3.2 | % | — | — | % | |||||||
| Transformation costs | 473 | 1.6 | % | 930 | 3.4 | % | |||||||
| Disaster charges(1) | 159 | 0.6 | % | 16 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 391 | 1.4 | % | 372 | 1.3 | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 19 | 0.1 | % | 36 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 3,026 | 10.6 | % | $ | 2,848 | 10.3 | % |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share to non-GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | Dollars | Diluted net earnings per share | |||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP net earnings | $ | 868 | $ | 0.66 | $ | 3,427 | $ | 2.58 | ||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 4 | — | 8 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 293 | 0.22 | 354 | 0.27 | ||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 905 | 0.69 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 473 | 0.36 | 930 | 0.70 | ||||||||||
| Disaster charges(1) | 159 | 0.12 | 16 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 391 | 0.30 | 372 | 0.28 | ||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 19 | 0.01 | 36 | 0.03 | ||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and related adjustments | 67 | 0.05 | (65) | (0.05) | ||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit credit | (134) | (0.10) | (70) | (0.05) | ||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | — | — | (2,351) | (1.78) | ||||||||||
| Early debt redemption costs | — | — | 100 | 0.08 | ||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests(2) | 45 | 0.03 | 109 | 0.08 | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for taxes | (426) | (0.32) | (264) | (0.20) | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,664 | $ | 2.02 | $ | 2,602 | $ | 1.96 |
(1) During fiscal year ended 2022, the Company recorded total pre-tax charges of $161 million, primarily related to the Company's exit from its Russia and Belarus businesses. Additionally, in fiscal 2022, Disaster charges included a recovery of $2 million related to COVID-19. Refer to Note 1, "Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, for further information.
(2) Represents the amortization of basis difference adjustments related to the H3C divestiture.
Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| In millions | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 4,593 | $ | 5,871 | ||
| Litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | — | (2,172) | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | 4,593 | 3,699 | ||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | (3,122) | (2,502) | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 602 | 354 | ||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (279) | — | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 1,794 | $ | 1,551 |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Non-GAAP financial measures
The non-GAAP financial measures presented are net revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue), non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management for purposes of evaluating our historical and prospective financial performance, as well as evaluating our performance relative to our competitors. These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to net revenue on a constant currency basis is net revenue. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit margin is gross profit margin. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP earnings from operations is earnings from operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) is operating profit margin (earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue). The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings is net earnings. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share is diluted net earnings per share. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to free cash flow is cash flow from operations.
Net revenue on a constant currency basis assumes no change in the foreign exchange rate from the prior-year period. Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross profit margin is defined to exclude charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, stock-based compensation expense and disaster charges. Non-GAAP earnings from operations and non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) consist of earnings from operations excluding any charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges, stock-based compensation expense and acquisition, disposition and other related charges. Non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding those same charges, as well as items such as tax indemnification and related adjustments, non-service net periodic benefit credit, litigation judgment, early debt redemption costs, earnings from equity interests, certain income tax valuation allowances and separation taxes, the impact of tax reform, structural rate adjustment and excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation. In addition, non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share are adjusted by the amount of additional taxes or tax benefits associated with each non-GAAP item. We believe that excluding the items mentioned above from these non-GAAP financial measures allows management to better understand our consolidated financial performance in relation to the operating results of our segments. Management believes excluding these items facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our current operating performance in comparison to our peers.
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non-GAAP financial measures are that they can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measures and cash flows, they may be calculated differently by other companies and may not reflect the full economic effect of the loss in value of certain assets.
We compensate for these limitations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. We also provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure. We believe that providing net revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share and free cash flow, in addition to the related GAAP measures provides greater transparency to the information used in our financial and operational decision making and allows the reader of our Consolidated Financial Statements to see our financial results “through the eyes” of management.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001645590-21-000068.
ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
For purposes of this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") section, we use the terms "Hewlett Packard Enterprise", "HPE", "the Company", "we", "us", and "our" to refer to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. References in the MD&A section to "former Parent" refer to HP Inc.
This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020. Discussions of fiscal 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Part II, Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2020, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist the reader in understanding our Consolidated Financial Statements, the changes in certain key items in those financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes that appear in Part II, Item 8 of this document.
This MD&A is organized as follows:
•Trends and Uncertainties. A discussion of material events and uncertainties known to management such as COVID-19, our response to the challenges and trends, and our pivot to as-a-service strategy.
•Executive Overview. A discussion of our business and summary analysis of financial and other highlights, including non-GAAP financial measures, affecting the Company in order to provide context to the remainder of the MD&A.
•Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. A discussion of accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results.
•Results of Operations. A discussion of the results of operations at the consolidated level is followed by a discussion of the results of operations at the segment level.
•Liquidity and Capital Resources. An analysis of changes in our cash flows and a discussion of our financial condition and liquidity.
•Contractual Cash and Other Obligations. An overview of contractual obligations, retirement and post-retirement benefit plan funding, restructuring plans, uncertain tax positions and off-balance sheet arrangements.
•GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation. Each non-GAAP measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure therein. This section also includes a discussion on the usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures, and material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES
COVID-19
While great progress has been made in the fight against COVID-19, it remains a global challenge and continues to have an impact on our operations. For a further discussion of the pandemic and the risks, uncertainties and actions taken in response to it, see the discussion in the section titled "COVID-19 Pandemic Update", "Manufacturing and Materials" and "Backlog" in Part I, Item 1, and risks identified in the section entitled " Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A.
The Company also believes that the pandemic has forced fundamental changes in businesses and communities that are aligned with the Company's edge-to-cloud platform delivered as-a-service strategy. Navigating through the pandemic and planning for a post-COVID world have increased customers' needs for as-a-service offerings, secure connectivity, remote work capabilities and analytics to unlock insights from data. Our solutions are aligned to these needs, and we see opportunity to help our customers drive digital transformations as they continue to adapt to operate in a new world.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Other Trends and Uncertainties
We are in the process of addressing many challenges facing our business. One set of challenges include dynamic and accelerating market trends, such as the market shift of workloads to cloud-related IT infrastructure business models, emergence of software-defined architectures and converged infrastructure functionality and growth in IT consumption models. Certain of our legacy hardware server and storage businesses face challenges as customers migrate to cloud-based offerings and reduce their purchases of hardware products. Therefore, the demand environment for traditional server and storage products is challenging and lower traditional compute and storage unit volume is impacting support attach opportunities within the associated services organization.
Another set of challenges relates to changes in the competitive landscape. Our major competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions, our business-specific competitors are exerting increased competitive pressure in targeted areas and are entering new markets, our emerging competitors are introducing new technologies and business models, and our alliance partners in some businesses are increasingly becoming our competitors.
A third set of challenges relates to business model changes and our go-to-market execution. We intend to provide our customers with a choice between traditional consumption models or subscription-based, pay-per-use and as-a-service offerings across our entire portfolio of HPE products and services.
Additionally, the global pandemic has accelerated several trends relevant to the Company. First, the exponential increase of data at the edge driven by the proliferation of devices. Second is the need for a cloud experience everywhere to manage the growth of data at the edge. Third, data growth is creating new opportunities with the need to quickly extract value from the captured data. Enterprises have embraced multi-cloud strategies, as they recognize the need for different cloud environments for different types of data and workloads. Increasingly, customers want to digitally transform, while preserving capital and eliminating operating expense, by paying only for the IT they use.
In response to the aforementioned challenges and trends, we are accelerating growth in our areas of strategic focus, which include the Intelligent Edge and High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence ("HPC & AI") businesses while at the same time, we are strengthening our core Compute and Storage businesses, doubling down in key areas of growth, and accelerating our as-a-service pivot to become the edge-to-cloud platform-as-a-service choice for our customers and partners.
At the same time our transformation programs have improved our cost structure, channel execution and alignment of our sales coverage with our strategic goals. We continue to pursue new product innovations that build on our existing capabilities in areas such as cloud and data center computing, software-defined networking, converged storage, high-performance compute, and wireless networking, which will keep us aligned with market demand, industry trends and the needs of our customers and partners. In addition, we continue to improve our operations, with a particular focus on enhancing our end-to-end processes and efficiencies.
Examples of accelerating and strengthening growth in our segments include the following:
•Intelligent Edge - we are seeing continued traction from our investment at the edge including rich software capabilities in security and edge services from HPE Aruba. The Aruba Edge Services Platform ("ESP") with Aruba’s built-in identity-based network security is unique in the market and provides the ideal foundation for building a zero trust and secure access service edge. Our comprehensive portfolio and Artificial Intelligence-powered cloud-driven platforms, such as Aruba ESP and Aruba Central, will continue to accelerate WAN and security deployments, advance cloud and IoT adoption and fast-track digital transformation. We are on track to grow high-margin recurring revenue with technology that accelerates our ability to capture the high-growth WAN market opportunity. Additionally, we introduced a new class of cloud-native and fully automated data center switching products specifically designed for edge cloud data centers which represents a significant market opportunity for HPE.
•HPC & AI - enterprises are running analytics on increasingly large data sets and are adopting new techniques, such as AI, deep learning, and machine learning. They now will have access to HPC technologies, including exascale supercomputing systems, that were historically prohibitive due to their cost and complexity. HPE GreenLake cloud services is a flexible as-a-service platform that customers can run on-premises or in a colocation facility.
•Compute - our strategy to grow profitability and pivot to more as-a-service solutions is paying off. Compute includes three new HPE ProLiant Solutions targeting 5G deployments for telecommunication companies and virtual desktop infrastructure. We launched our new HPE 5G Open radio access network ("RAN") solution stack for telecommunications companies to accelerate the commercial adoption of Open RAN in 5G network deployments. This
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
is a transformative technology, featuring the industry’s first server-optimized for 5G Open RAN workloads with our HPE ProLiant Servers.
•Storage - we continue to see strength in key software defined solutions, which drive our ability to attach rich services and provide data insights with our portfolio offerings. We introduced a new portfolio of cloud native data infrastructure called HPE Alletra which delivers workload optimized systems and provides customers with architectural flexibility to run any application without compromise, from edge-to-cloud with our operational experience. These innovations are propelling our storage business into a cloud-native software-defined data services business through organic innovation and targeted acquisitions.
Annualized Revenue Run-rate ("ARR")
Our pivot to as-a-service continues its strong momentum with the addition of HPE GreenLake Cloud Services. Our mix of ARR is becoming more software-rich as we build our GreenLake Cloud platform, which is improving our margin profile. On the innovation front, we announced a transformative new data storage services platform that brings our cloud operations model to wherever data lives by unifying data operations. The platform will be available through HPE GreenLake Central and include a new data services cloud console and a suite of software subscription services that simplifies and automates global infrastructure at scale. We will continue to invest aggressively in HPE GreenLake Cloud Services to provide a true cloud experience and operating model, whether at the edge, on-premises or across multiple clouds.
ARR represents the annualized revenue of all net GreenLake services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income from operating leases and interest income from capital leases) and software-as-a-service, subscription, and other as-a-service offerings, recognized during a quarter and multiplied by four. We use ARR as a performance metric. ARR should be viewed independently of net revenue, and is not intended to be combined with it.
The following presents our ARR as of October 31, 2021 and 2020:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| In millions | ||||||
| ARR | $ | 796 | $ | 585 | ||
| year-over-year growth rate | 36 | % | N/A |
The 36% increase in ARR in fiscal 2021 as compared to the prior-year period was due to growth in HPE GreenLake services and related financial services due to an expanding customer installed base. Additionally, ARR increased due to higher Intelligent Edge as-a-service activity, including Silver Peak, and growth in Storage as-a-service driven by Zerto, a recent acquisition.
The following Executive Overview, Results of Operations and Liquidity discussions and analysis compare fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2020, unless otherwise noted. The Capital Resources and Contractual Cash and Other Obligations discussions present information as of October 31, 2021, unless otherwise noted.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Net revenue of $27.8 billion represented an increase of 3.0% (increased 1.0% on a constant currency basis) due to a variety of factors including improvements in the overall demand environment from the prior-year period resulting in revenue growth across most of our segments, a strong order backlog at the beginning of the period, incremental revenue from the Silver Peak acquisition and favorable currency fluctuations. The revenue increase was moderated by a decrease in unit shipments due largely to industry-wide material constraints and a related challenging supply chain environment which resulted in significantly higher levels of order backlog across our hardware segments at the end of the current period. The gross profit margin of 33.7% represented an increase of 2.3 percentage points due to a combination of factors led by strong pricing discipline, cost savings from our transformation programs and a continued mix shift toward higher-margin software-rich offerings. The operating profit margin of 4.1% represented an increase of 5.3 percentage points due primarily to our strong operational execution in fiscal 2021 and the absence of a goodwill impairment charge which we recognized in fiscal 2020. We generated $5.9 billion of cash flow from operations (including $2.2 billion of after-tax cash from Oracle Corporation's satisfaction of a judgment in the Itanium breach of contract litigation) due to higher net earnings and improved working capital management. Free cash flow excluding the litigation judgment was $1.6 billion.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | ||||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | 27,784 | 26,982 | 3.0% | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 9,376 | $ | 8,469 | 10.7% | |||||
| Gross profit margin | 33.7 | % | 31.4 | % | 2.3pts | |||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations | $ | 1,132 | $ | (329) | NM | |||||
| Operating profit margin | 4.1 | % | (1.2) | % | 5.3pts | |||||
| Net earnings (loss) | $ | 3,427 | $ | (322) | NM | |||||
| Diluted net earnings (loss) per share | $ | 2.58 | $ | (0.25) | $ | 2.83 | ||||
| Cash flow from operations | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | 162.1 | % |
NM - Not meaningful
The following table summarizes our consolidated non-GAAP financial results:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | |||||||
| In millions, except per share amounts | |||||||||
| Net revenue adjusted for currency | $ | 27,247 | $ | 26,982 | 1.0% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,424 | $ | 8,543 | 10.3% | ||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit margin | 33.9 | % | 31.7 | % | 2.2pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 2,848 | $ | 2,282 | 24.8% | ||||
| Non-GAAP operating profit margin | 10.3 | % | 8.5 | % | 1.8pts | ||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,602 | $ | 2,005 | 29.8% | ||||
| Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share | $ | 1.96 | $ | 1.54 | $0.42 | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 1,551 | $ | 560 | $991 |
Each non-GAAP measure has been reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measure herein. Please refer to the section "GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations" included in this MD&A for these reconciliations, usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures, and material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures.
Returning capital to our shareholders remains an important part of our capital allocation framework which consists of capital returns to shareholders and strategic investments. We believe our existing balance of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, along with commercial paper and other short-term liquidity arrangements, are sufficient to satisfy our working capital needs, capital asset purchases, dividends, debt repayments and other liquidity requirements associated with our existing operations. As of October 31, 2021, our cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $4.3 billion, compared to the October 31, 2020 balance of $4.6 billion, representing a decrease of $0.3 billion. We maintain a $4.75 billion five year senior unsecured committed credit facility that was entered into in August 2019. As of October 31, 2021 no borrowings were outstanding under this credit facility.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), which requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. A summary of significant accounting policies and a summary of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Note 1, "Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, which is incorporated herein by reference. An accounting policy is deemed to be critical if the nature of the estimate or assumption it incorporates is subject to material level of judgment related to matters that are highly uncertain and changes in those estimates and assumptions are reasonably likely to materially impact our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Estimates and judgments are based on historical experience, forecasted events, and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and judgments may vary under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis.
We believe the accounting policies below are critical in the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments.
Revenue Recognition
We enter into contracts with customers that may include combinations of products and services, resulting in arrangements containing multiple performance obligations for hardware and software products and/or various services.
The majority of our revenue is derived from sales of product and the associated support and maintenance which is recognized when, or as, control of promised products or services is transferred to the customer at the transaction price. Transaction price is adjusted for variable consideration which may be offered in contracts with customers, partners and distributors and may include rebates, volume-based discounts, cooperative marketing, price protection, and other incentive programs.
Significant judgment is applied in determining the transaction price as we may be required to estimate variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition. When determining the amount of revenue to recognize, we estimate the expected usage of these programs, applying the expected value or most likely estimate and update the estimate at each reporting period as actual utilization becomes available. Variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue will not occur. We also consider the customers' right of return in determining the transaction price, where applicable.
To recognize revenue for the products and services for which control has been transferred, we allocate the transaction price for the contract among the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price ("SSP") basis. We establish SSP for most of our products and services based on the observable price of the products or services when sold separately in similar circumstances to similar customers. When the SSP is not directly observable, we estimate SSP based on management judgment by considering available data such as internal margin objectives, pricing strategies, market/competitive conditions, historical profitability data, as well as other observable inputs. We establish SSP ranges for our products and services and reassesses them periodically.
Taxes on Earnings
We calculate our current and deferred tax provisions based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the final positions reflected in our income tax returns. We will adjust our current and deferred tax provisions based on our tax returns which are generally filed in the third or fourth quarters of the subsequent fiscal year.
We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which we expect the differences to reverse.
We record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount that we are more likely than not to realize. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider future market growth, forecasted earnings, future sources of taxable income, the mix of earnings in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. In order for us to realize our deferred tax assets, we must be able to generate sufficient taxable income in the jurisdictions in which the deferred tax assets are located.
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our effective tax rate includes the impact of certain undistributed foreign earnings and basis differences for which we have not provided for U.S. federal taxes because we plan to reinvest such earnings and basis differences indefinitely outside the U.S. We will remit non-indefinitely reinvested earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries for which deferred U.S. state income and foreign withholding taxes have been provided where excess cash has accumulated and when we determine that it is advantageous for business operations, tax or cash management reasons.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and approximately 90 other countries, and we are subject to routine corporate income tax audits in many of these jurisdictions. We believe that positions taken on our tax returns are fully supported, but tax authorities may challenge these positions, which may not be fully sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities. Accordingly, our income tax provision includes amounts intended to satisfy assessments that may result from these challenges. Determining the income tax provision for these potential assessments and recording the related effects requires management judgments and estimates. The amounts ultimately paid on resolution of an audit could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax provision and, therefore, could have a material impact on our (Provision) benefit for taxes, Net earnings (loss) and cash flows. Our accrual for uncertain tax positions is attributable primarily to uncertainties concerning the tax treatment of our international operations, including the allocation of income among different jurisdictions, intercompany transactions and related interest, and uncertain tax positions from acquired companies. For further discussion on taxes on earnings, refer to Note 6, "Taxes on Earnings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Business Combinations
We allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the assets acquired, including in-process research and development ("IPR&D"), liabilities assumed, and non-controlling interests in the acquiree generally based on their fair values at the acquisition date. IPR&D is initially capitalized at fair value as an intangible asset with an indefinite life and assessed for impairment thereafter. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair value of these assets acquired, liabilities assumed and non-controlling interests in the acquiree is recorded as goodwill.
When determining the fair values of assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and non-controlling interests in the acquiree, management makes significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets. Critical estimates in valuing intangible assets include, but are not limited to, expected future cash flows, which includes consideration of future growth rates and margins, attrition rates, future changes in technology and brand awareness, loyalty and position, and discount rates. Fair value estimates are based on the assumptions management believes a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability. Amounts recorded in a business combination may change during the measurement period, which is a period not to exceed one year from the date of acquisition, as additional information about conditions existing at the acquisition date becomes available.
Goodwill
We review goodwill for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. We are permitted to conduct a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test.
In the goodwill impairment test, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount. Estimating the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using a weighting of fair values derived most significantly from the income approach and, to a lesser extent, the market approach, with the exception of the Software reporting unit which uses a weighting derived most significantly from the market approach. Under the income approach, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit based on the present value of estimated future cash flows. Cash flow projections are based on discrete forecast periods as well as terminal value determinations, including revenue growth rates and operating margins used to calculate projected future cash flows. These cash flow projections are discounted to arrive at the fair value of each reporting unit. The discount rate used is based on the weighted-average cost of capital of comparable public companies adjusted for the relevant risk associated with business specific characteristics and the uncertainty related to the reporting unit's ability to execute on the projected cash flows. Under the market approach, we estimate the fair value based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from comparable publicly traded companies with operating and investment characteristics similar to the reporting unit. We weight the fair value derived from the market approach commensurate with the level of comparability of these publicly traded companies to the reporting unit. When market comparables are not meaningful or not available, we estimate the fair value of a reporting unit using only the income approach. A significant and sustained decline in our stock price could provide evidence of a need to record a goodwill impairment charge.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit.
On March 31, 2020, due to the macroeconomic impacts of the pandemic on our projected future results of operations, we determined that an indicator of potential impairment existed to require an interim quantitative goodwill impairment test for its reporting units. The quantitative goodwill impairment test indicated that the carrying value of the HPC & AI reporting unit exceeded its fair value by $865 million. As a result, we recorded a partial goodwill impairment charge of $865 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
During the annual impairment test in fiscal 2020, we determined that no additional impairment of goodwill existed.
Our annual goodwill impairment analysis, which we performed as of the first day of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, did not result in any additional impairment charges. The excess of fair value over carrying amount for our reporting units ranged from approximately 8% to 133% of the respective carrying amounts. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the estimated fair value of our reporting units in the goodwill impairment test, we applied a hypothetical 10% decrease to the fair value of each reporting unit. Based on the results of this hypothetical 10% decrease all of the reporting units had an excess of fair value over carrying amount, with the exception of HPC & AI reporting unit.
As of the annual test date, the HPC & AI reporting unit had a goodwill of $3.7 billion and an excess of fair value over carrying value of net assets of 8%. The HPC & AI business is facing challenges on the current and projected future results as the revenue growth is dependent on timing of delivery and related achievement of customer acceptance milestones. If we are not successful in addressing these challenges, the projected revenue growth rates or operating margins could decline resulting in a decrease in the fair value of the HPC & AI reporting unit. The fair value of the HPC & AI reporting unit could also be negatively impacted by changes in its weighted average cost of capital, changes in management's business strategy or significant and sustained declines in the stock price, which could result in an indicator of impairment. Further impairment charges, if any, may be material to our results of operations and financial position. See Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" for a discussion of the potential impacts of the pandemic on the fair value of our assets.
Intangible Assets
We review intangible assets with finite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of our finite-lived intangible assets is assessed based on the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount, the finite-lived intangible assets are considered to be impaired. The amount of the impairment loss, if any, is measured as the difference between the carrying amount of the asset and its fair value. We estimate the fair value of finite-lived intangible assets by using an income approach or, when available and appropriate, using a market approach.
In March 2020, prior to the quantitative goodwill impairment test, we tested the recoverability of long-lived assets and other assets of the HPC & AI reporting unit and concluded that such assets were not impaired.
Contingencies
We are subject to the possibility of losses from various contingencies. Significant judgment is necessary to estimate the probability and amount of a loss, if any, from such contingencies. An accrual is made when it is probable that a liability has been incurred or an asset has been impaired and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. We review these matters at least quarterly and adjust these liabilities to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other updated information and events, pertaining to a particular case.
Based on our experience, we believe that any damage amounts claimed in the specific litigation and contingency matters further discussed in Note 17, "Litigation and Contingencies", to the Consolidated Financial Statements are not a meaningful indicator of our potential liability. Litigation is inherently unpredictable. However, we believe we have valid defenses with respect to legal matters pending against us. Nevertheless, cash flows or results of operations could be materially affected in any particular period by the resolution of one or more of these contingencies. We believe we have recorded adequate provisions for any such matters and, as of October 31, 2021, it was not reasonably possible that a material loss had been incurred in connection with such matters in excess of the amounts recognized in our financial statements.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Revenue from our international operations has historically represented, and we expect will continue to represent, a majority of our overall net revenue. As a result, our revenue growth has been impacted, and we expect will continue to be impacted, by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. In order to provide a framework for assessing performance excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, we present the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a constant currency basis, which assumes no change in foreign currency exchange rates from the prior-year period and doesn't adjust for any repricing or demand impacts from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. This change in revenue on a constant currency basis is calculated as the quotient of (a) current year revenue converted to U.S. dollars using the prior-year period's foreign currency exchange rates divided by (b) prior-year period revenue. This information is provided so that revenue can be viewed without the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which is consistent with how management evaluates our revenue results and trends. This constant currency disclosure is provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the year-over-year percentage change in revenue on a GAAP basis. Other companies may calculate and define similarly labeled items differently, which may limit the usefulness of this measure for comparative purposes.
Results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of net revenue were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 27,784 | 100.0 | % | $ | 26,982 | 100.0 | % | $ | 29,135 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
| Cost of sales | 18,408 | 66.3 | % | 18,513 | 68.6 | % | 19,642 | 67.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 9,376 | 33.7 | % | 8,469 | 31.4 | % | 9,493 | 32.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 1,979 | 7.1 | % | 1,874 | 6.9 | % | 1,842 | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 4,929 | 17.7 | % | 4,624 | 17.2 | % | 4,907 | 16.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 354 | 1.3 | % | 379 | 1.4 | % | 267 | 0.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | 865 | 3.2 | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 930 | 3.3 | % | 950 | 3.5 | % | 453 | 1.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Disaster charges (recovery) | 16 | 0.1 | % | 26 | 0.1 | % | (7) | — | % | |||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 36 | 0.1 | % | 80 | 0.3 | % | 757 | 2.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations | 1,132 | 4.1 | % | (329) | (1.2) | % | 1,274 | 4.4 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest and other, net | (211) | (0.8) | % | (215) | (0.8) | % | (177) | (0.6) | % | |||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and related adjustments | 65 | 0.2 | % | (101) | (0.4) | % | 377 | 1.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit credit | 70 | 0.3 | % | 136 | 0.5 | % | 59 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | 2,351 | 8.5 | % | — | — | % | — | — | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests | 180 | 0.6 | % | 67 | 0.3 | % | 20 | — | % | |||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) before taxes | 3,587 | 12.9 | % | (442) | (1.6) | % | 1,553 | 5.3 | % | |||||||||||
| (Provision) benefit for taxes | (160) | (0.6) | % | 120 | 0.4 | % | (504) | (1.7) | % | |||||||||||
| Net earnings (loss) | $ | 3,427 | 12.3 | % | $ | (322) | (1.2) | % | $ | 1,049 | 3.6 | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
Net revenue
In fiscal 2021, total net revenue of $27.8 billion, increased by $0.8 billion, or 3.0% (increased 1.0% on a constant currency basis). U.S. net revenue decreased by $0.3 billion or 3.4% to $8.9 billion, while net revenue from outside of the U.S. increased by $1.1 billion or 6.3% to $18.9 billion.
From a segment perspective, net revenue increased across most of our segments due to the improved demand environment led by revenue growth of 15% in Intelligent Edge and 5%, 3%, 2% and 2% in Corporate Investments and Other,
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
HPC & AI, Storage, and Financial Service, respectively. Compute net revenue was largely unchanged from the prior-year period.
The components of the weighted net revenue change by segment were as follows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
| Percentage Points | ||||
| Compute | — | (5.0) | ||
| HPC & AI | 0.3 | 0.4 | ||
| Storage | 0.3 | (2.0) | ||
| Intelligent Edge | 1.6 | (0.2) | ||
| Financial Services | 0.2 | (0.8) | ||
| Corporate Investments and Other | 0.2 | 0.1 | ||
| Total segment | 2.6 | (7.5) | ||
| Elimination of intersegment net revenue | 0.4 | 0.1 | ||
| Total HPE | 3.0 | (7.4) |
Gross Profit
Our gross profit margin increased 2.3 percentage points due primarily to a combination of factors led by strong pricing discipline, cost savings from our transformation programs, a continued mix shift toward higher-margin software-rich offerings and favorable currency fluctuations.
Operating expenses
Research and development
R&D expense increased by $105 million, or 6% due primarily to higher employee compensation expense which contributed 11.0 percentage points to the change. The increase was moderated by cost savings of 4.5 percentage points as we rationalize our R&D through transformation programs by focusing investment in growth areas.
Selling, general and administrative
SG&A expense increased by $305 million, or 7% due primarily to higher employee compensation expense and unfavorable currency fluctuations, which contributed 4.1 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points to the change, respectively.
Amortization of intangible assets
Amortization expense decreased by $25 million, or 7% due to certain intangible assets associated with prior acquisitions reaching the end of their amortization in the current period and higher write-offs of certain intangible assets in the prior-year period. The decrease was moderated by an increase in amortizations in the current period resulting from recent acquisitions.
Impairment of goodwill
Impairment of goodwill for fiscal 2020 represents a partial goodwill impairment charge of $865 million recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, as it was determined that the fair value of the HPC & AI reporting unit was below the carrying value of its net assets.
Transformation programs and costs
Our transformation programs consist of the cost optimization and prioritization plan (launched in 2020) and HPE Next initiative (launched in 2017). The cost optimization and prioritization plan focuses on realigning our workforce to areas of growth, a new hybrid workforce model called Edge-to-Office, real estate strategies and simplifying and evolving our product portfolio strategy. The implementation period for the cost optimization and prioritization plan is through fiscal 2023. The HPE Next initiative was intended to put in place a purpose-built company designed to compete and win in the markets where we
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
participate by simplifying our operating model, streamlining our offerings, business processes and business systems to improve our execution. The implementation period for HPE Next was extended to fiscal 2023.
Transformation costs decreased by $20 million, or 2% due primarily to lower restructuring charges recorded in the current year, with higher IT costs and lower gains on real estate sales in the current period moderating the decrease.
Disaster charges
In fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020, disaster charges represent direct costs resulting from the pandemic and are primarily related to HPE hosted, co-hosted, or sponsored events which were converted to a virtual format or cancelled.
Acquisition, disposition and other related charges
Acquisition, disposition and other related charges decreased by $44 million due primarily to lower business acquisition costs related to retention bonuses and integration activities in the current year period.
Interest and other, net
Interest and other, net expense was relatively unchanged from period to period, due to offsetting factors with the current period including higher gains from equity investments, lower interest expense from lower average borrowings, and lower unfavorable currency fluctuations, offset by early debt redemption costs, lower gains on the sale of certain assets and lower interest income.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments
We record changes in certain pre-Separation tax liabilities for which we share joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we were indemnified under the Termination and Mutual Release Agreement within Tax Indemnification and related Adjustments. We also record changes to certain pre-Separation and pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables for which we remain liable on behalf of the separated or divested business, but which may not be subject to indemnification.
We recorded Tax indemnification and related adjustments income of $65 million and expense of $101 million in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments in fiscal 2021 primarily included the impacts of a Brazilian Supreme Court decision received regarding the base on which two social contribution taxes in Brazil ("PIS" and "COFINS") are imposed. As a result of this decision, the Company is entitled to recover credits and associated interest related to the overpayment of these transaction taxes imposed between 2005 and 2019 to be used to offset future Brazilian tax liabilities. As such, we have recorded benefits of $17 million and $80 million, both net of taxes, for the recovery of PIS and COFINS, respectively, during fiscal 2021, of which $25 million was included in Net revenue, $10 million related to interest income was included in Interest and other, net, and $80 million related to pre-Separation liabilities was included in Tax indemnification and related adjustments. The corresponding income taxes of $18 million as a result of this recovery were included in (Provision) benefit for taxes in the Consolidated Statement of Earnings.
Tax indemnification and related adjustments in fiscal 2020 resulted from changes in certain pre-Separation tax liabilities for which we shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we are indemnified under the Termination and Mutual Release Agreement and changes to certain pre-divestiture tax liabilities and tax receivables.
Non-service net periodic benefit credit
Non-service net periodic benefit credit represents the components of net periodic pension benefit costs, other than service cost, for the Hewlett Packard Enterprise defined benefit pension and post-retirement benefit plans such as interest cost, expected return on plan assets, and the amortization of prior plan amendments and actuarial gains or losses. The credit also includes the impact of any plan settlements, curtailments, or special termination benefits.
Non-service net periodic benefit credit decreased by $66 million due primarily to lower expected returns on plan assets.
Litigation judgment
In October 2021, the Company received $2.35 billion which represents Oracle Corporation's satisfaction of the judgment in the Itanium breach of contract dispute. The gain was recognized as other income and presented as a Litigation judgment in
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
the Consolidated Statements of Earnings. For further discussion, refer to Note 17, “Litigation and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Earnings from equity interests
Earnings from equity interests primarily represents our 49% interest in H3C Technologies and the amortization of our interest in a basis difference. Earnings from equity interests increased by $113 million due to higher net income earned by H3C and gains from certain venture investments.
(Provision) benefit for taxes
For fiscal 2021 and 2020, we recorded income tax expense of $160 million and an income tax benefit of $120 million, respectively, which reflect effective tax rates of 4.5% and 27.1%, respectively. Our effective tax rate generally differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due to favorable tax rates associated with certain earnings from our operations in lower tax jurisdictions throughout the world but may also be materially impacted by discrete tax adjustments during the fiscal year. The jurisdictions with favorable tax rates that had the most significant impact on our effective tax rate in the periods presented include Puerto Rico and Singapore.
In fiscal 2021, we recorded $294 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
•$180 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs, and acquisition, disposition and other related charges,
•$157 million of income tax benefits related to releases of foreign valuation allowances,
•$39 million of income tax benefits related to tax rate changes on deferred taxes,
•$32 million of income tax benefits related to the change in pre-Separation tax liabilities, primarily those for which we share joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we are indemnified by HP Inc.
•These benefits were partially offset by $337 million of net income tax charges associated with income from the Itanium litigation judgment, against which $244 million of income tax attributes previously subject to a valuation allowance were utilized, resulting in a net tax expense of $93 million.
In fiscal 2020, we recorded $362 million of net income tax benefits related to items discrete to the year. These amounts primarily included:
• $174 million of income tax benefits related to transformation costs, and acquisition, disposition and other related charges,
•$66 million of income tax benefits related to the change in pre-Separation tax liabilities, primarily those for which we shared joint and several liability with HP Inc. and for which we are indemnified by HP Inc.,
•$57 million of income tax benefits related to Indian distribution tax rate changes, and
• $40 million of income tax benefits related to tax rate changes on deferred taxes.
•These discrete tax benefits were offset by $242 million of net income tax charges related to normal operations and the impact of the Company's goodwill impairment charge being non-deductible from a tax perspective.
Segment Information
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's organizational structure is based on a number of factors that the Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM"), who is the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), uses to evaluate, view and run our business operations, which include, but are not limited to, customer base and homogeneity of products and technology. The segments are based on this organizational structure and information reviewed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's management to evaluate segment results.
In October 2021, we renamed the segment previously known as High Performance Computing and Mission Critical Solutions ("HPC & MCS") to High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence ("HPC & AI").
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
As described in Note 1, "Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, effective at the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2021, we (a) excluded stock-based compensation expense from our segment earnings from operations; and (b) implemented certain organizational changes to align our segment financial reporting more closely with our current business structure. As a result of these organizational changes, our operations are now organized into six segments for financial reporting purposes: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, FS, and Corporate Investments and Other. The Corporate Investments and Other Segment now includes the A & PS operating segment, the Communications and Media Solutions operating segment, the Software operating segment, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Labs which is responsible for research and development. We reflected these changes in our segment information retrospectively to the earliest period presented, which primarily resulted in the realignment of net revenue and operating profit for each of the segments. These changes had no impact on Hewlett Packard Enterprise's previously reported consolidated results.
A description of the products and services for each segment, along with other pertinent information related to Segments can be found in Note 2, "Segment Information", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Segment Results
The following provides an overview of our key financial metrics by segment for fiscal 2021, as compared to fiscal 2020:
| HPE Consolidated | Compute | HPC & AI | Storage | Intelligent Edge | Financial Services | CorporateInvestments and Other | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars in millions, except for per share amounts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net revenue(1) | $ | 27,784 | $ | 12,292 | $ | 3,188 | $ | 4,763 | $ | 3,287 | $ | 3,401 | $ | 1,356 | |||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change % | 3.0 | % | 0.1 | % | 2.7 | % | 1.7 | % | 15.1 | % | 1.5 | % | 4.5 | % | |||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations(2) | $ | 1,132 | $ | 1,326 | $ | 234 | $ | 778 | $ | 500 | $ | 390 | $ | (95) | |||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from operations as a % of net revenue | 4.1 | % | 10.8 | % | 7.3 | % | 16.3 | % | 15.2 | % | 11.5 | % | (7.0) | % | |||||||||||||
| Year-over-year change percentage points | 5.3 | pts | 2.6 | pts | (1.9) | pts | (1.1) | pts | 3.4 | pts | 3.0 | pts | 8.9 | pts |
(1)HPE consolidated net revenue excludes intersegment net revenue.
(2)Segment earnings from operations exclude certain unallocated corporate costs and eliminations, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of initial direct costs, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges and acquisition, disposition and other related charges.
Compute
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 12,292 | $ | 12,285 | $ | 13,730 | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 1,326 | $ | 1,007 | $ | 1,719 | ||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 10.8 | % | 8.2 | % | 12.5 | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
Compute net revenue increased by $7 million, or 0.1% (decreased 2.0% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to favorable currency fluctuations and an increase in average unit prices. The net revenue increase was partially offset by a decrease in unit shipments resulting from material constraints due to a challenging supply chain environment. As a result, we ended the period with a significantly higher level of order backlog.
From a product perspective, Compute experienced revenue growth in the rack and synergy server product categories partially moderated by a revenue decline due to certain products approaching their end-of-life. Services net revenue was relatively unchanged from period to period.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Compute earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 2.6 percentage points due to decreases in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to favorable currency fluctuations, lower supply chain overhead costs from operational efficiencies, and disciplined pricing. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to cost savings from our transformation programs partially offset by higher employee compensation expense.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
Compute net revenue decreased by $1.4 billion, or 10.5% (decreased 9.4% on a constant currency basis) due to the impact of the pandemic on the demand environment as we experienced multiple factors including competitive pricing pressures, manufacturing capacity constraints in North America in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, and unfavorable currency fluctuations. As a result, Compute experienced a decline in unit shipments and average unit selling prices.
Compute earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 4.3 percentage points due primarily to an increase in costs of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of products as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to competitive pricing pressures, unfavorable currency fluctuations, higher supply chain costs and the scale of the net revenue decline, partially offset by lower commodity costs and a favorable mix. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due to the scale of the net revenue decline as total operating expenses declined due primarily to lower spending resulting from our cost containment measures and lower variable compensation expense, partially offset by higher field selling costs.
HPC & AI
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,188 | $ | 3,105 | $ | 2,983 | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 234 | $ | 285 | $ | 365 | ||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 7.3 | % | 9.2 | % | 12.2 | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
HPC & AI net revenue increased by $83 million or 2.7% (increased 1.8% on a constant currency basis) as the challenges encountered in the prior year period resulting from the pandemic receded, such as delays with meeting customer milestones, and the demand environment improved. This resulted in net revenue growth in the Apollo and Cray product categories within HPC and growth in Edge Compute. Favorable currency fluctuations also added to the net revenue increase. These increases were moderated by revenue declines in Data Solutions and Services due to certain products approaching their end-of-life and lower support services, respectively.
HPC & AI earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 1.9 percentage points primarily due to increases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to a lower mix of revenue from services and higher-margin Data Solutions, while cost savings from our transformation programs moderated the increase. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to higher field selling costs and employee compensation expense, while cost savings from our transformation programs moderated the increase.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
HPC & AI net revenue increased by $122 million, or 4.1% (increased 4.4% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to higher revenue in HPC from the addition of product and services revenue resulting from the acquisition of Cray, partially offset by a revenue decline in Edge Compute and Data Solutions.
HPC & AI earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 3.0 percentage points due to an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue partially offset by lower cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to an improved product mix resulting from Cray. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due to the addition of operating expenses from Cray.
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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Storage
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 4,763 | $ | 4,685 | $ | 5,255 | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 778 | $ | 813 | $ | 1,009 | ||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 16.3 | % | 17.4 | % | 19.2 | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
Storage net revenue increased by $78 million, or 1.7% (decreased 0.1% on a constant currency basis) as we continue our transition to more services, and software-rich offerings. The net revenue increase was led by favorable currency fluctuations, growth in Storage services and incremental revenue from the Zerto acquisition. Net revenue in Storage products was unchanged as growth from HPE Primera products, Traditional Storage and Nimble Storage was offset by revenue declines in SimpliVity and HPE 3PAR, while we are transitioning to the next-generation HPE Primera and HPE Alletra product set.
Storage earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 1.1 percentage points due to an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue, partially offset by a decrease in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to a favorable mix of higher-margin HPE Primera and Big Data products, and improved operational efficiencies achieved through our transformation programs, the effects of which were partially offset by higher fixed overhead costs as a percentage of net revenue. Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue increased across all functions due to higher employee compensation expense and planned investments in our cloud data services.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
Storage net revenue decreased by $570 million, or 10.8% (decreased 9.9% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to the impact of the pandemic on the demand environment as we experienced commodity and manufacturing capacity constraints in North America in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, and lower revenue from the expiration of a one-time legacy contract, partially offset by higher revenue from Big Data.
Storage earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 1.8 percentage points due to an increase in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue and an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The increase in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to a combination of factors including competitive pricing pressures, increased cost of products due to higher fixed overhead cost, and unfavorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by lower cost of services due to delivery efficiencies. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to the scale of the net revenue decline while total operating expenses declined due to lower field selling costs amid lower spending resulting from our cost containment measures.
Intelligent Edge
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,287 | $ | 2,855 | $ | 2,913 | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 500 | $ | 337 | $ | 216 | ||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 15.2 | % | 11.8 | % | 7.4 | % |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
Intelligent Edge net revenue increased by $432 million, or 15.1% (increased 12.8% on a constant currency basis) from growth in product and services revenue due to an improved demand environment in the current period, the addition of revenue from Silver Peak and favorable currency fluctuations. The increase in product revenue was led by the Switching and WLAN product categories. The increase in services revenue was led by higher attached support services and increased as-a-service offerings.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 3.4 percentage points due primarily to decreases in cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower product costs in Switching and WLAN and addition of higher-margin Silver Peak activity. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to improved operational efficiencies including cost savings from transformation programs, while higher employee compensation expense and the addition of expenses from Silver Peak moderated the decrease.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
Intelligent Edge net revenue decreased by $58 million, or 2.0% (decreased 1.2% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to weak market demand, competitive pricing pressures and unfavorable currency fluctuations. As a result, we experienced lower revenue from WLAN, switching products, and software offerings. These declines were partially offset by an increase in net revenue due to higher service renewals.
Intelligent Edge earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 4.4 percentage points due to a decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue coupled with lower cost of products and services as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of product and services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to a favorable mix of revenue from services and lower costs of switching products, partially offset by higher logistics cost. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower spending as a result of cost containment measures, partially offset by higher variable compensation expense.
Financial Services
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 3,401 | $ | 3,352 | $ | 3,581 | ||||
| Earnings from operations | $ | 390 | $ | 284 | $ | 310 | ||||
| Earnings from operations as a % of net revenue | 11.5 | % | 8.5 | % | 8.7 | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
FS net revenue increased by $49 million, or 1.5% (decreased 0.9% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to favorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by a decrease in rental revenue due to lower average operating lease assets, along with lower asset management revenue from lease buyouts.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue increased 3.0 percentage points due primarily to lower cost of services as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease to cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulted primarily from lower borrowing costs while operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue remained relatively flat.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
FS net revenue decreased by $229 million, or 6.4% (decreased 5.2% on a constant currency basis) due primarily to a decrease in rental revenue due to lower average operating leases assets and lower lease equipment buyout revenue, along with unfavorable currency fluctuations, partially offset by higher revenue from lease extensions.
FS earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 0.2 percentage points due primarily to an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue, partially offset by lower cost of services as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease to cost of services as a percentage of net revenue resulted from lower depreciation expense and borrowing costs, partially offset by higher bad debt expense. The increase to operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower capitalized initial direct costs as a result of adopting the new lease accounting standard.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Financing Volume
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Financing volume | $ | 6,168 | $ | 6,005 | $ | 6,200 |
Financing volume, which represents the amount of financing provided to customers for equipment and related software and services, including intercompany activity, increased by 2.7% in fiscal 2021 and decreased 3.1% in fiscal 2020 as compared to the prior-year periods. The increase in fiscal 2021 was primarily driven by favorable currency fluctuations, along with higher financing associated with third-party product sales and related service offerings. The decrease in fiscal 2020 was primarily related to lower financing associated with both third-party and HPE product sales and related service offerings, along with unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Portfolio Assets and Ratios
The FS business model is asset intensive and uses certain internal metrics to measure its performance against other financial services companies, including a segment balance sheet that is derived from our internal management reporting system. The accounting policies used to derive FS amounts are substantially the same as those used by the Company. However, intercompany loans and certain accounts that are reflected in the segment balances are eliminated in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The portfolio assets and ratios derived from the segment balance sheets for FS were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||
| Financing receivables, gross | $ | 9,198 | $ | 9,058 | ||
| Net equipment under operating leases | 4,001 | 4,027 | ||||
| Capitalized profit on intercompany equipment transactions(1) | 275 | 315 | ||||
| Intercompany leases(1) | 96 | 92 | ||||
| Gross portfolio assets | 13,570 | 13,492 | ||||
| Allowance for doubtful accounts(2) | 228 | 154 | ||||
| Operating lease equipment reserve | 39 | 64 | ||||
| Total reserves | 267 | 218 | ||||
| Net portfolio assets | $ | 13,303 | $ | 13,274 | ||
| Reserve coverage | 2.0 | % | 1.6 | % | ||
| Debt-to-equity ratio(3) | 7.0x | 7.0x |
(1)Intercompany activity is eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Allowance for credit losses for financing receivables includes both the short- and long-term portions.
(3)Debt benefiting FS consists of intercompany equity that is treated as debt for segment reporting purposes, intercompany debt, and borrowing- and funding-related activity associated with FS and its subsidiaries. Debt benefiting FS totaled $11.9 billion and $11.7 billion at October 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and was determined by applying an assumed debt-to-equity ratio, which management believes to be comparable to that of other similar financing companies. FS equity at both October 31, 2021 and October 31, 2020 was $1.7 billion.
As of October 31, 2021 and 2020, FS net cash and cash equivalents were $898 million and $729 million, respectively.
Net portfolio assets as of October 31, 2021 increased 0.2% from October 31, 2020. The increase generally resulted from favorable currency fluctuations, largely offset by portfolio runoff exceeding new financing volume during the period.
FS bad debt expense includes charges to general reserves, specific reserves and write-offs for sales-type, direct-financing and operating leases. FS recorded net bad debt expense of $95 million, $93 million and $75 million in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
As of October 31, 2021, FS experienced an increase in billed finance receivables compared to October 31, 2020, which included a limited impact to collections from customers as a result of the pandemic. We are currently unable to fully predict the extent to which the pandemic may adversely impact future collections of our receivables.
Corporate Investments and Other
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| Dollars in millions | ||||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 1,356 | $ | 1,298 | $ | 1,288 | ||||
| Loss from operations | $ | (95) | $ | (206) | $ | (314) | ||||
| Loss from operations as a % of net revenue | (7.0) | % | (15.9) | % | (24.4) | % |
Fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue increased by $58 million, or 4.5% (increased 2.5% on a constant currency basis) due to favorable currency fluctuations and higher revenue from Communications and Media Solutions ("CMS") and Software.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 8.9 percentage points due primarily to a decrease in cost of services and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to service delivery and overhead efficiencies achieved through our transformation programs. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower spending resulting from cost containment measures.
Fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019
Corporate Investments and Other net revenue increased by $10 million, or 0.8% (increased 1.2% on a constant currency basis) due to higher revenue from Software partially offset by lower revenue from A & PS and CMS, and unfavorable currency fluctuations.
Corporate Investments and Other loss from operations as a percentage of net revenue decreased 8.5 percentage points due to a decrease in costs of services and operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue. The decrease in cost of services as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to service delivery and overhead efficiencies achieved through our transformation programs. The decrease in operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue was due primarily to lower spending resulting from our cost containment measures.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Current Overview
We use cash generated by operations as our primary source of liquidity. We believe that internally generated cash flows will be generally sufficient to support our operating businesses, capital expenditures, product development initiatives, acquisition and disposal activities including legal settlements, restructuring activities, transformation costs, indemnifications, maturing debt, interest payments, and income tax payments, in addition to any future investments, share repurchases, and stockholder dividend payments. We expect to supplement this short-term liquidity, if necessary, by accessing the capital markets, issuing commercial paper, and borrowing under credit facilities made available by various domestic and foreign financial institutions. However, our access to capital markets may be constrained and our cost of borrowing may increase under certain business, market and economic conditions. We anticipate that the available funds and cash generated from operations along with our access to capital markets will be sufficient to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve months. We continue to monitor the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the U.S. and other global economies, the capital markets, consumer behavior, our businesses, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Our liquidity is subject to various risks including the risks identified in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Item 1A and market risks identified in the section entitled "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" in Item 7A, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our cash balances are held in numerous locations throughout the world, with a substantial amount held outside the U.S as of October 31, 2021. We utilize a variety of planning and financing strategies in an effort to ensure that our worldwide cash is available when and where it is needed.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support our non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations of amounts held outside the U.S. generally will not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective, but may be subject to state income or foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through ongoing cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
As a result of increased uncertainty due to the pandemic, purchases under our share repurchase program previously authorized by our Board of Directors, were temporarily suspended in April, 2020. We resumed our share repurchase program in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 and settled $213 million of our stock. As of October 31, 2021, we had a remaining authorization of $1.9 billion for future share repurchases. For more information on our share repurchase program, refer to Note 15, "Stockholders' Equity", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Liquidity
Our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, total debt and available borrowing resources were as follows:
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 4,332 | $ | 4,621 | $ | 4,076 | ||||
| Total debt | $ | 13,448 | $ | 15,941 | $ | 13,820 | ||||
| Available borrowing resources | $ | 6,017 | $ | 6,297 | $ | 5,639 |
The tables below represent the way in which management reviews cash flows:
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | $ | 3,997 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (2,796) | (2,578) | (3,457) | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (3,364) | 883 | (1,548) | |||||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | (289) | $ | 545 | $ | (1,008) |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $3.6 billion, for fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The increase was due primarily to higher earnings, which includes a $2.2 billion litigation judgment.
Our key working capital metrics were as follows:
| As of October 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||
| Days of sales outstanding in accounts receivable ("DSO") | 49 | 42 | 37 | ||||
| Days of supply in inventory ("DOS") | 82 | 48 | 45 | ||||
| Days of purchases outstanding in accounts payable ("DPO") | (128) | (97) | (104) | ||||
| Cash conversion cycle | 3 | (7) | (22) |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The cash conversion cycle is the sum of DSO and DOS less DPO. Items which may cause the cash conversion cycle in a particular period to differ include, but are not limited to, changes in business mix, changes in payment terms (including extended payment terms to customers or from suppliers), early or late invoice payments from customers or to suppliers, the extent of receivables factoring, seasonal trends, the timing of sales and inventory purchases within the period, the impact of commodity costs and acquisition activity.
DSO measures the average number of days our receivables are outstanding. DSO is calculated by dividing ending accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, by a 90-day average of net revenue. For fiscal 2021, as compared to the prior-year period, DSO increased due primarily to a decrease in early payments and factoring, extended payments terms and unfavorable billing linearity.
DOS measures the average number of days from procurement to sale of our product. DOS is calculated by dividing ending inventory by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. For fiscal 2021, as compared to the prior-year period, the DOS increased due primarily to higher levels of inventory resulting from a combination of supply chain constraints, positioning of inventory to fulfill planned future shipments and strategic purchases of certain key components.
DPO measures the average number of days our accounts payable balances are outstanding. DPO is calculated by dividing ending accounts payable by a 90-day average of cost of goods sold. For fiscal 2021, as compared to the prior-year period, DPO increased due primarily to higher inventory purchases for planned future shipments and extended payment terms.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities increased by $0.2 billion in fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The change was primarily due to higher cash utilized for investment in property, plant and equipment, net of sales proceeds of $0.5 billion and higher cash utilized in net financial collateral activities of $0.1 billion, partially offset by lower payments made in connection with business acquisitions, net of $0.4 billion.
Financing Activities
Net cash generated in financing activities decreased by $4.2 billion in fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The decrease was due primarily to lower proceeds from debt issuance of $4.0 billion, higher cash utilized for debt repayment of $0.4 billion and lower cash utilized for share repurchase of $0.1 billion.
Free Cash Flow
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | $ | 3,997 | ||||
| Litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | (2,172) | — | — | |||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | 3,699 | 2,240 | 3,997 | |||||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | (2,502) | (2,383) | (2,856) | |||||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 354 | 703 | 597 | |||||||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | 1,551 | $ | 560 | $ | 1,738 |
Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operations less investments in property, plant and equipment net of proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment. In fiscal 2021, free cash flow does not include $2.2 billion of after-tax cash impact from Oracle’s satisfaction of the judgment in the Itanium litigation. Free cash flow increased by $1.0 billion in fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The increase was due to higher cash generated from operations and improved net working capital moderated by increased cash used for investments in property, plant and equipment, net of sales proceeds.
Our improved free cash flow outlook and cash position help to ensure we have ample liquidity to run operations, continuing to invest in our business to drive growth and return capital to shareholders.
For more information on the impact from operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Capital Resources
Debt Levels
| As of October 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||
| Short-term debt | $ | 3,552 | $ | 3,755 | $ | 4,425 | ||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 9,896 | $ | 12,186 | $ | 9,395 | ||||
| Weighted-average interest rate | 2.9 | % | 3.2 | % | 4.1 | % |
We maintain debt levels that we establish through consideration of a number of factors, including cash flow expectations, cash requirements for operations, investment plans (including acquisitions), share repurchase activities, our cost of capital, and targeted capital structure.
For more information on the activity for fiscal 2021 relating to Unsecured Senior Notes and Asset-Backed Debt Securities, see Note 14, "Borrowings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Commercial Paper
We maintain two commercial paper programs, "the Parent Programs", and a wholly-owned subsidiary maintains a third program. Our U.S. program provides for the issuance of U.S. dollar-denominated commercial paper up to a maximum aggregate principal amount of $4.75 billion which was increased from $4.0 billion in March 2020. Our euro commercial paper program provides for the issuance of commercial paper outside of the U.S. denominated in U.S. dollars, euros or British pounds up to a maximum aggregate principal amount of $3.0 billion or the equivalent in those alternative currencies. The combined aggregate principal amount of commercial paper outstanding under those programs at any one time cannot exceed $4.75 billion as authorized by our Board of Directors. In addition, our subsidiary's euro Commercial Paper/Certificate of Deposit Program provides for the issuance of commercial paper in various currencies of up to a maximum aggregate principal amount of $1.0 billion. As of October 31, 2021 and October 31, 2020, no borrowings were outstanding under the Parent Programs, and $705 million and $677 million, respectively, were outstanding under our subsidiary's program. During fiscal 2021, we issued $757 million and repaid $728 million of commercial paper.
Our weighted-average interest rate reflects the average effective rate on our borrowings prevailing during the period and reflects the impact of interest rate swaps. For more information on our interest rate swaps, see Note 13, "Financial Instruments", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
In December 2020, we filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows us to sell, at any time and from time to time, in one or more offerings, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants, depository shares, purchase contracts, guarantees or units consisting of any of these securities.
Revolving Credit Facility
We maintain a $4.75 billion five year senior unsecured committed credit facility that was entered into in August 2019. Loans under the revolving credit facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including support of the commercial paper program. Commitments under the Credit Agreement are available for a period of five years, which period may be extended, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, by up to two, one-year periods. Commitment fees, interest rates and other terms of borrowing under the credit facility vary based on Hewlett Packard Enterprise's external credit rating. As of October 31, 2021 and October 31, 2020, no borrowings were outstanding under the Credit Agreement.
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Available Borrowing Resources
As of October 31, 2021, we had the following resources available to obtain short- or long-term financing if we need additional liquidity:
| As of October 31, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| In millions | ||
| Commercial paper programs | $ | 5,045 |
| Uncommitted lines of credit | $ | 972 |
For more information on our available borrowing resources and the impact of operating assets and liabilities to cash flows, see Note 14, "Borrowings", and Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
CONTRACTUAL CASH AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
In fiscal 2020 the total of our contractual cash and other obligations was $20.8 billion and in fiscal 2021 totals $17.9 billion. Hence we do not currently expect changes to our contractual cash and other obligations to significantly impact our free cash flow expectations.
Our contractual cash and other obligations as of October 31, 2021, were as follows:
| Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1 Year or Less | 1-3 Years | 3-5 Years | More than 5 Years | ||||||||||||||
| In millions | ||||||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on long-term debt(1) | $ | 12,404 | $ | 2,597 | $ | 4,292 | $ | 3,265 | $ | 2,250 | ||||||||
| Interest payments on long-term debt(2) | 3,539 | 377 | 556 | 378 | 2,228 | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations (net of sublease rental income)(3) | 1,140 | 187 | 316 | 241 | 396 | |||||||||||||
| Unconditional purchase obligations(4) | 768 | 458 | 228 | 59 | 23 | |||||||||||||
| Capital lease obligations (includes interest) | 62 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 28 | |||||||||||||
| Total(5)(6)(7) | $ | 17,913 | $ | 3,626 | $ | 5,405 | $ | 3,957 | $ | 4,925 |
(1)Amounts represent the principal cash payments relating to our long-term debt, including current portion of long-term debt, and do not include fair value adjustments, discounts or premiums and debt issuance costs. As of October 31, 2021, the future principal payments related to asset-backed debt securities were expected to be $1.2 billion in fiscal 2022, $0.7 billion in fiscal 2023 and $0.2 billion in fiscal 2024. For more information on our debt, see Note 14, "Borrowings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(2)Amounts represent the expected interest payments relating to our long-term debt. We use interest rate swaps to mitigate the exposure of our fixed rate debt to changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates, or hedge the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with our variable-rate debt. The impact of our outstanding interest rate swaps at October 31, 2021 was factored into the calculation of the future interest payments on long-term debt.
(3)Amounts include uncommenced operating leases as of fiscal 2021 and do not reflect imputed interest adjustments.
(4)For additional information on our Unconditional Purchase Obligations, see Note 19, "Commitments", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(5)In fiscal 2022, we anticipate making contributions of $199 million to our non-U.S. pension plans. Our policy is to fund pension plans so that we meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by various authorities including local government and taxing authorities. Expected contributions and payments to our pension and post-retirement benefit plans are excluded from the contractual obligations table because they do not represent contractual cash outflows, as they are dependent on numerous factors which may result in a wide range of outcomes. For more information on our retirement and post-retirement benefit plans, see Note 4, "Retirement and Post-Retirement Benefit Plans", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(6)As of October 31, 2021, we expect future cash payments of approximately $0.8 billion in connection with our approved restructuring plans, which includes $0.5 billion expected to be paid in fiscal 2022 and $0.3 billion expected to be paid thereafter. Payments for restructuring activities have been excluded from the contractual obligations table, because they do not represent contractual cash
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
outflows and there is uncertainty as to the timing of these payments. For more information on our restructuring activities, see Note 3, "Transformation Programs", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(7)As of October 31, 2021, we had approximately $428 million of recorded liabilities and related interest and penalties pertaining to uncertain tax positions. These liabilities and related interest and penalties include $68 million expected to be paid within one year. For the remaining amount, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate as to when cash settlement with the tax authorities might occur due to the uncertainties related to these tax matters. Payments of these obligations would result from settlements with taxing authorities. For more information on our uncertain tax positions, see Note 6, "Taxes on Earnings", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Off-balance Sheet Arrangements
As part of our ongoing business, we have not participated in transactions that generate material relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
We have third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements intended to facilitate the working capital requirements of certain customers. For more information on our third-party revolving short-term financing arrangements, see Note 7, "Balance Sheet Details", to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.
GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
Effective at the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the Company excluded stock-based compensation expense from its segment earnings from operations results and excluded stock-based compensation expense from non-GAAP results. The Company has reflected this change retrospectively to its financial results for the earliest period presented. This change had no impact on Hewlett Packard Enterprise's previously reported consolidated GAAP results. However, the Company reflected the change resulting from the reclassification of its stock-based compensation expense by restating its consolidated non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin, non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP net earnings per share.
The following tables provide reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures for fiscal 2021 and 2020:
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share to non-GAAP net earnings and diluted net earnings per share.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Dollars in millions | Diluted net earnings per share | Dollars in millions | Diluted net earnings per share | |||||||||||
| GAAP net earnings (loss) | $ | 3,427 | $ | 2.58 | $ | (322) | $ | (0.25) | ||||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 8 | 0.01 | 10 | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 354 | 0.27 | 379 | 0.29 | ||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | 865 | 0.67 | ||||||||||
| Transformation costs | 930 | 0.70 | 950 | 0.74 | ||||||||||
| Disaster charges | 16 | 0.01 | 26 | 0.02 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 372 | 0.28 | 274 | 0.21 | ||||||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 36 | 0.03 | 107 | 0.08 | ||||||||||
| Tax indemnification and related adjustments | (65) | (0.05) | 101 | 0.08 | ||||||||||
| Non-service net periodic benefit credit | (70) | (0.05) | (136) | (0.11) | ||||||||||
| Litigation judgment | (2,351) | (1.78) | — | — | ||||||||||
| Early debt redemption costs | 100 | 0.08 | — | — | ||||||||||
| Earnings from equity interests(1) | 109 | 0.08 | 145 | 0.11 | ||||||||||
| Adjustments for taxes | (264) | (0.20) | (394) | (0.31) | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP net earnings | $ | 2,602 | $ | 1.96 | $ | 2,005 | $ | 1.54 |
(1) Represents the amortization of basis difference adjustments related to the H3C divestiture.
Reconciliation of GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin to non-GAAP earnings from operations and operating profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP earnings (loss) from operations | $ | 1,132 | 4.1 | % | $ | (329) | (1.2) | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 8 | — | % | 10 | — | % | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 354 | 1.3 | % | 379 | 1.4 | % | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | — | — | % | 865 | 3.2 | % | |||||||
| Transformation costs | 930 | 3.3 | % | 950 | 3.5 | % | |||||||
| Disaster charges | 16 | 0.1 | % | 26 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 372 | 1.3 | % | 274 | 1.0 | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges | 36 | 0.1 | % | 107 | 0.4 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP earnings from operations | $ | 2,848 | 10.3 | % | $ | 2,282 | 8.5 | % |
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Reconciliation of GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin to non-GAAP gross profit and gross profit margin.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Dollars | % of Revenue | Dollars | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| In millions | |||||||||||||
| GAAP Net revenue | $ | 27,784 | 100 | % | $ | 26,982 | 100 | % | |||||
| GAAP Cost of sales | 18,408 | 66.3 | % | 18,513 | 68.7 | % | |||||||
| GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,376 | 33.7 | % | $ | 8,469 | 31.4 | % | |||||
| Non-GAAP adjustments | |||||||||||||
| Amortization of initial direct costs | 8 | — | % | 10 | — | % | |||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 40 | 0.2 | % | 37 | 0.2 | % | |||||||
| Acquisition, disposition and other related charges(1) | — | — | % | 27 | 0.1 | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP gross profit | $ | 9,424 | 33.9 | % | $ | 8,543 | 31.7 | % |
(1) Represent charges related to a non-cash inventory fair value adjustment in connection with the acquisition of Cray, which was included in Cost of Sales.
Reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow.
| For the fiscal years ended October 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| In millions | ||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 5,871 | $ | 2,240 | ||
| Litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | (2,172) | — | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid | 3,699 | 2,240 | ||||
| Investment in property, plant and equipment | (2,502) | (2,383) | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment | 354 | 703 | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | 1,551 | $ | 560 |
Non-GAAP financial measures
The non-GAAP financial measures presented are net revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue), non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management for purposes of evaluating our historical and prospective financial performance, as well as evaluating our performance relative to our competitors. These non-GAAP financial measures are not computed in accordance with, or as an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to net revenue on a constant currency basis is net revenue. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit is gross profit. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP gross profit margin is gross profit margin. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP earnings from operations is earnings from operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue) is operating profit margin (Earnings from operations as a percentage of net revenue). The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP net earnings is net earnings. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share is diluted net earnings per share. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to cash flow from operations and free cash flow, each excluding litigation judgment, net of taxes paid, is cash flow from operations.
Net revenue on a constant currency basis assumes no change in the foreign exchange rate from the prior-year period. Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross profit margin is defined to exclude charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, stock-based compensation expense and certain acquisition, disposition and other related charges. Non-GAAP earnings from operations and non-GAAP operating profit margin (non-GAAP earnings from operations as a percentage of net
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Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
revenue) consist of earnings from operations excluding any charges related to the amortization of initial direct costs, amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, transformation costs, disaster charges, stock-based compensation expense and acquisition, disposition and other related charges. Non-GAAP net earnings and Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share consist of net earnings or diluted net earnings per share excluding those same charges, as well as items such as tax indemnification and related adjustments, non-service net periodic benefit credit, litigation judgment, early debt redemption costs, earnings from equity interests, certain income tax valuation allowances and separation taxes, the impact of U.S. tax reform, structural rate adjustment and excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation. In addition, non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share are adjusted by the amount of additional taxes or tax benefits associated with each non-GAAP item. We believe that excluding the items mentioned above from these non-GAAP financial measures allows management to better understand our consolidated financial performance in relation to the operating results of our segments. Management does not believe that the excluded items are reflective of ongoing operating results, and excluding them facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our current operating performance in comparison to our peers. The excluded items can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and/or not reflective of the operational performance of the business.
These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations in relying on these non-GAAP financial measures are that they can have a material impact on the equivalent GAAP earnings measures, they may be calculated differently by other companies and may not reflect the full economic effect of the loss in value of certain assets.
We compensate for these limitations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as a supplement. We also provide a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure. We believe that providing net revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP earnings from operations, non-GAAP operating profit margin, non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share in addition to the related GAAP measures provides greater transparency to the information used in our financial and operational decision making and allows the reader of our Consolidated Financial Statements to see our financial results “through the eyes” of management.
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