How Risky Is Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock?
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Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) lost 27.0% in the month to November 11, 2026, while the S&P 500 slipped 2.3%. The decline occurred between earnings reports. Over the same dates, Dell Technologies fell 34.6%. Although the shares are still up 114.2% over twelve months, the drop since October 13 shows how quickly the stock can give ground. So how far has Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock fallen when the whole market sold off?
HPE Stock Has Fallen Further Than The Market
During market shocks, HPE stock has usually dropped more than the S&P 500 before returning to its earlier high within months. The company has traded through 10 shocks since listing in November 2015, two of which share one 2015-16 fall. Across its 9 separate falls, the stock fell 23.6% on average, against 15.1% for the S&P 500.
The deepest decline in a market shock occurred during the 2020 COVID-19 crash, when HPE lost 45.3% and the index lost 33.7%. The 2025 US tariff shock came close, with the stock falling 42.3% against 18.8% for the S&P 500. The 2022 inflation shock was the only time HPE fell no further than the market: 23.9%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500.
The stock has also recovered every time. After each of the 9 falls, shares returned to their highest close before the low, taking a median of 4.2 months from the bottom. The slowest return followed the COVID-19 crash and took 10.6 months.
How Has Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Business Changed Since 2024?
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a much bigger company than a year ago. It sold $41.9 billion over the twelve months to July 31, 2026, up 26.6% from a year earlier, and that is faster than the 14.0% growth of the twelve months before. These are reported figures; management’s call figures are adjusted to include Juniper Networks, which HPE is integrating, from the start of fiscal 2025.
Profit has grown alongside sales. In fiscal Q3 2026, the GAAP operating margin reached 11.4%, compared with 2.7% in the same quarter of 2025.
HPE carries more debt than it did two years ago. Total debt stood at $20.2 billion on July 31, 2026, compared to $11.8 billion in July 2024, though the balance has declined from $23.7 billion a year earlier. That debt equals 30.2% of the company’s market value, against 19.5% for the S&P 500.
Where Is Hewlett Packard Enterprise Under Pressure Now?
HPE has lacked the components necessary to meet demand. On the company’s September 2, 2026 call, management said supply constraints continue to limit the volume of orders it can ship, and that memory chips such as DDR5 and NAND have been short since the beginning of 2026. Management said data center networking revenue declined 6% in fiscal Q3 on a normalized basis, which counts Juniper in both years, because of shipment timing driven by supply constraints.
Commodity costs are also higher, management said. Inventory ended fiscal Q3 at $11.8 billion, an increase from both a year earlier and the previous quarter, which management tied to those costs and to purchases for future shipments.
Management also expects the gross margin to move back toward more historical levels as sales of AI systems grow and the traditional servers business normalizes. Based on management’s adjusted measure, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s gross margin reached a record 40.4% in fiscal Q3 2026. This metric is the figure to watch when the company reports its fiscal Q4 results, expected in November 2026.
What Would Selling Hewlett Packard Enterprise Cost You In Tax?
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