Hewlett Packard Enterprise 10-Q 2025-01-31

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The number of shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company common stock outstanding as of February 28, 2025 was 1,313,578,244 shares, par value $0.01.

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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

Form 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended January 31, 2025

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Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise indicates, all references in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to “HPE,” or “the Company” mean Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 2 of Part I, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and its consolidated subsidiaries (“Hewlett Packard Enterprise”) may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “guide”, “optimistic”, “intend”, “aim”, “will”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “should” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to any projections, estimations, or expectations of addressable markets and their sizes, revenue (including annualized revenue run-rate), margins, expenses (including stock-based compensation expenses), investments, effective tax rates, interest rates, the impact of tax law changes and related guidance and regulations, the impact of changes in trade policies and restrictions, net earnings, net earnings per share, cash flows, liquidity and capital resources, inventory, goodwill, impairment charges, hedges and derivatives and related offsets, order backlog, benefit plan funding, deferred tax assets, share repurchases, currency exchange rates, repayments of debts including our asset-backed debt securities, or other financial items; recent amendments to accounting guidance and any potential impacts on our financial reporting therefrom; any projections or estimations of orders, including as-a-service orders; any projections of the amount, timing, or impact of cost savings or restructuring charges; any statements of the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations, as well as the execution and consummation of cost reduction programs, corporate transactions or contemplated acquisitions (including but not limited to our proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc.) and dispositions (including but not limited to the disposition of shares of H3C Technologies Co., Limited (“H3C”) and the receipt of proceeds therefrom), research and development expenditures, and any resulting benefit, cost savings, charges, or revenue or profitability improvements; any statements concerning the expected development, performance, market share, or competitive performance relating to our products or services; any statements concerning technological and market trends, the pace of technological innovation, and adoption of new technologies, including artificial intelligence-related and other products and services offered by Hewlett Packard Enterprise; any statements regarding current or future macroeconomic trends or events and the impacts of those trends and events on Hewlett Packard Enterprise and our financial performance, including but not limited to supply chain dynamics, heightened global trade barriers or restrictions, demand for our products and services, and access to liquidity, and our actions to mitigate such impacts on our business; the scope and duration of outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics, or public health crises, the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, and the relationship between China and the U.S., and our actions in response thereto, and their impacts on our business, operations, liquidity and capital resources, employees, customers, partners, supply chain, financial results, and the world economy; any statements regarding future regulatory trends and the resulting legal and reputational exposure, including but not limited to those relating to environmental, social, governance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and artificial intelligence issues, among others; any statements regarding pending investigations, claims, or disputes including but not limited to the litigation enjoining the closing of the proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc.; any statements of expectation or belief, including those relating to future guidance and the financial performance of Hewlett Packard Enterprise; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions include the need to address the many challenges facing Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s businesses; the competitive pressures faced by Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s businesses; risks associated with executing Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s strategy; the impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events, including but not limited to those mentioned above; the need to effectively manage third-party suppliers and distribute Hewlett Packard Enterprise's products and services; the protection of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's intellectual property assets, including intellectual property licensed from third parties and intellectual property shared with its former parent; risks associated with Hewlett Packard Enterprise's international operations (including from public health crises, such as pandemics or epidemics, and geopolitical events, such as those mentioned above); the development and transition of new products and services and the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s transformation and mix shift of its portfolio of offerings; the execution and performance of contracts by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its suppliers, customers, clients, and partners, including any impact thereon resulting from macroeconomic or geopolitical events, such as those mentioned above; the prospect of a shutdown of the U.S. federal government or dramatic shifts in public sector staffing and resources; the hiring and retention of key employees; the execution, integration, consummation, and other risks associated with business combination, disposition, and investment transactions, including but not limited to the risks associated with the disposition of H3C shares and the receipt of proceeds therefrom and completion of our proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc. and our ability to integrate and implement our plans, forecasts, and other expectations with respect to the consolidated business; the execution, timing, and results of any cost reduction programs, including estimates and assumptions related to the costs and anticipated benefits of implementing such plans; the impact of changes to privacy, cybersecurity, environmental, global trade, and other governmental regulations; changes in our product, lease, intellectual property, or real estate portfolio; the payment or non-payment of a dividend for any period; the efficacy of using non-GAAP, rather than GAAP, financial measures in business projections and planning; the judgments required in connection with determining revenue recognition; impact of company policies and related compliance; utility of segment realignments; allowances for recovery of receivables and warranty obligations; provisions for,

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and resolution of, pending investigations, claims, and disputes, including but not limited to the litigation enjoining the closing of the proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc.; the impacts of legal and regulatory changes and related guidance; and other risks that are described herein, including but not limited to the items discussed in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024 and that are otherwise described or updated from time to time in Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and in other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hewlett Packard Enterprise assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Index

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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings

(Unaudited)

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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 “Hewlett Packard Enterprise”, “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 months ended January 31, 2025 to the comparable prior-year period and where appropriate, as of January 31, 2025, 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 of supply chain constraints (though easing) and heightening global trade restrictions, uneven demand across our portfolio, increased demand for and adoption of new technologies, conservative customer spending environment (though recovering), persistent inflation, foreign exchange pressures, recent tax developments, competitive pricing pressures, and proposed acquisition of 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.

• 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 three months of 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 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 offerings, including our own. Additionally, there is growing uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy and import/export regulations, which may, in turn, result in trading partners enacting reciprocally restrictive trade policies and measures. These may enhance global trade uncertainty and contribute to higher prices of components and end products and services. We expect such 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 since eased, in part due to increased availability of supply and lower material and logistics costs, the future is uncertain due to forthcoming shifts in U.S. trade policy, which may impact our ability to import and export components and finished products and the costs of doing so. Logistics costs decreased from previously elevated levels as a result of declines in both expedited shipments and overall rate costs in the freight network; however, these costs may rise with the aforementioned changes in trade policies. 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, which may exacerbate due to the global trade uncertainties referenced above, 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 and supply chain diversification.

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 environ

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For quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk affecting HPE, see “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in Item 7A of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024. There have been no material changes in our market risk exposures since October 31, 2024.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act as of the end of the period covered by this report (the “Evaluation Date”). Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded as of the Evaluation Date that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective such that the information related to the Company, including our consolidated subsidiaries, required to be disclosed in our SEC reports (i) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to the Company's management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended January 31, 2025, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 15, “Litigation, Contingencies, and Commitments”.

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended October 31, 2024, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our common stock, including certain risks, which have been modified as follows:

Failure to complete the Merger with Juniper Networks may adversely affect our business and our stock price.

In January 2024, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Juniper Networks, Inc., a leader in AI-native networks (the “Merger”). Consummation of the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, including but not limited to (i) the adoption of the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Juniper Networks, HPE and Jasmine Acquisition Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of HPE (“Merger Sub”), by Juniper Networks’ stockholders (which was completed on April 2, 2024); (ii) the absence of any injunction, order or law preventing, prohibiting or making illegal the consummation of the Merger; (iii) the expiration or termination of the waiting period (or extension thereof) under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, as amended, and the receipt of all other required approvals, consents or clearances under specified foreign antitrust laws and foreign investment laws without imposition of a Burdensome Condition (as defined in the Merger Agreement); and (iv) in the case of the obligations of HPE and Merger Sub to effect the Merger, the absence of a material adverse effect with respect to Juniper Networks that is continuing as of the closing. There can be no assurance that these or other closing conditions will be satisfied in a timely manner or at all. Any delay in completing the Merger could cause us not to realize some or all of the anticipated benefits when expected, if at all. On January 30 2025, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to enjoin the closing of the Merger, alleging that the Merger is likely to substantially lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act. On February 10 2025, HPE and Juniper Networks filed answers to the DOJ’s complaint, disputing these claims. Trial is scheduled to begin on July 9, 2025. While we intend to vigorously defend the litigation, an unfavorable ruling could ultimately prevent the closing of the Merger, thereby adversely impacting our ability to achieve the intended benefits of the Merger, which could, in turn, have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If the Merger is not completed, our stock price could be impacted to the extent it reflects an assumption that we will complete the Merger, and additionally, we may suffer other consequences that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and stock price, including incurring significant acquisition costs that we would be unable to recover, negative

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publicity, and a negative impression of us in the investment community. Additionally, the DOJ could request conditions, terms, obligations, or restrictions or seek to require divestitures, or place restrictions on the conduct of our business after consummation of the Merger, any of which, if agreed to by the parties, could adversely affect the expected benefits of the Merger, our business, results of operations, or stock price Furthermore, under certain specified circumstances, including the termination of the Merger Agreement by either us or Juniper Networks because certain required regulatory clearances are not obtained or the terms of the Merger Agreement are materially breached by us, we would be required to pay Juniper Networks a termination fee of $815 million.

In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop, and transition key qualified employees, and failure to do so could seriously harm us.

In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop, and transition qualified executives and other key employees, including those in managerial, technical, development, sales, marketing, and IT positions. In order to attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash and equity-based compensation. These are particularly important considering our growth strategy to capture the market opportunities presented by networking, hybrid cloud, and AI. Certain equity-based incentive awards for certain executives contain conditions relating to our stock price performance and our long-term financial performance that make the future value of those awards uncertain. If the anticipated value of such equity-based incentive awards does not materialize, if our equity-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, or if we do not obtain the stockholder approval needed to continue granting equity-based incentive awards in the amounts we believe are necessary, our ability to attract, retain, and motivate highly qualified executives and key employees could be weakened.

Our failure to successfully hire executives and key employees or the loss of any executives and key employees could have a significant impact on our operations and our ability to execute our strategy. Further, changes in our management team may be disruptive to our business, and any failure to successfully transition and assimilate key new hires or promoted employees could adversely affect our business and results of operations. As competition for highly skilled employees in our industry has grown increasingly intense, we have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, higher than anticipated levels of employee attrition, which has resulted in increased costs to hire new employees with the desired skills and may do so again in the future. In addition, significant or prolonged turnover or revised hiring priorities may negatively impact our operations and our ability to successfully maintain our processes and procedures, including due to the loss of historical, technical, and other expertise. These risks to attracting and retaining the necessary highly qualified talent may be exacerbated by labor constraints, such as immigration policies which may impair the ability to recruit technical and professional talent, and inflationary pressures, which impact employee wages and benefits. Further, integration of employees and businesses as a result of our acquisitions, including the Merger, may present challenges, which could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel who are essential to our future success.

If we fail to manage the distribution of our products and services properly, our business and financial performance could suffer.

We use a variety of distribution methods to sell our products and services around the world, including both direct and indirect sales to end-users. Successfully managing the interaction of our direct and indirect channel efforts to reach various potential customer segments for our products and services is a complex process. Moreover, since each distribution method has distinct risks and gross margins, our failure to implement the most advantageous balance in the delivery model for our products and services could adversely affect our revenue and gross margins and therefore our profitability.

Our financial results could be materially adversely affected due to distribution channel conflicts or if the financial conditions of our channel partners were to weaken. Our results of operations may be adversely affected by any conflicts that might arise between our various distribution channels or the loss or deterioration of any alliance or distribution arrangement. Moreover, some of our wholesale distributors may have insufficient financial resources and may not be able to withstand changes in business conditions, including economic weakness, industry consolidation, tariffs, and/or market trends. Considerable trade receivables that are not covered by collateral or credit insurance are outstanding with our distribution channel partners. Revenue from indirect sales could suffer, and we could experience disruptions in distribution, if our distributors’ financial conditions, abilities to borrow funds in the credit markets, or operations weaken.

Our inventory management is complex, as we continue to sell a significant mix of products through distributors. We must manage both owned and channel inventory effectively, particularly with respect to sales to distributors, which involves forecasting demand and pricing challenges. Distributors have in the past adjusted orders during periods of product shortages, and may do so in the future, in addition to cancelling orders if their inventory is too high or delaying orders in anticipation of new products. Distributors also may adjust their orders in response to the supply of our products and the products of our competitors and seasonal fluctuations in end-user demand. As a result of these considerations, we have experienced, and may in

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the future again experience, abnormally high inventory levels. If we have excess or obsolete inventory, we may have to reduce our prices and write down inventory, which may adversely impact our gross margin and our results of operations. Moreover, our use of indirect distribution channels may limit our willingness or ability to adjust prices quickly and otherwise to respond to pricing changes or tariffs.

Failure to meet responsible and sustainable business expectations or standards or achieve our Living Progress objectives could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, or stock price.

There has been an increased focus from regulators and stakeholders on sustainability and corporate responsibility matters. Given our commitment to sustainable and responsible business, we actively manage these issues through our established and publicly announced Living Progress Strategy, which we may refine or even expand further in the future. This strategy reflects our current plans and aspirations, is based on available data and estimates, and is not a guarantee that we will be able to achieve such plans and aspirations. Moreover, actions or statements that we may take based on expectations, assumptions, or third-party information that we currently believe to be reasonable may subsequently be determined to be erroneous or be subject to misinterpretation. Initiatives to address sustainability and corporate responsibility issues may be costly and may not have the desired effect. Evolving stakeholder expectations and our efforts and ability to manage these issues present numerous operational, regulatory, reputational, financial, legal, and other risks, any of which may be outside of our control or could have adverse impacts on our business, including on our stock price. Further, there is uncertainty around the accounting standards and climate-related disclosures associated with emerging laws and reporting requirements and the related costs to comply with the emerging regulations.

Our failure or perceived failure to achieve our Living Progress objectives, maintain responsible and sustainable business practices, or comply with emerging laws and regulations that meet evolving regulatory or stakeholder expectations could harm our reputation, adversely impact our ability to attract and retain customers and talent, and expose us to increased scrutiny from the investment community and enforcement authorities. Our reputation also may be harmed by the perceptions that our stakeholders have about our action or inaction on certain sustainability- and corporate responsibility-related issues, or because they may disagree with our strategy and initiatives, either of which may cause us to face scrutiny, legal and/or regulatory proceedings, or other market access restrictions from certain parties related to our action or inaction on such issues. Damage to our reputation and loss of brand equity may reduce demand for our products and services and thus have an adverse effect on our future financial performance, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.

We operate in an intensely competitive industry, and competitive pressures could harm our business and financial performance.

Our ability to implement solutions for our customers, anticipate and respond to rapid and continuing changes in technology (such as cloud-, AI-, and security-related offerings, which are continually evolving), and develop new service offerings or incorporate technological improvements into our offerings that meet current and prospective customers’ needs, as well as evolving industry standards, is critical to our competitiveness and success. We encounter aggressive competition from numerous and varied competitors in all areas of our business, and our competitors have targeted and are expected to continue targeting our key market segments. We compete primarily on the basis of technology, innovation, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, distribution, range of products and services, ease of use of our products, account relationships, customer training, service and support, security, and the availability of our IT infrastructure offerings. If our products, services, support, and cost structure do not enable us to compete successfully based on any of those criteria, our results of operations and business prospects could be harmed.

We have a large portfolio of products and services and must allocate our financial, personnel, and other resources across all of our products and services while competing with companies that have smaller portfolios or specialize in one or more of our product or service lines. As a result, we may invest less in certain areas of our business than our competitors do, and our competitors may have greater financial, technical, and marketing resources available to them compared to the resources allocated to our products and services that compete against theirs. If we do not sufficiently invest in new technologies, successfully adapt to industry developments and changing demand, and evolve and expand our business at sufficient speed and scale to keep pace with the demands of the markets we serve, we may be unable to develop and maintain a competitive advantage and execute on our growth strategy, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Industry consolidation may also affect competition by creating larger, more homogeneous, and potentially stronger competitors in the markets in which we operate. Additionally, our competitors may affect our business by entering into exclusive arrangements with our existing or potential customers or suppliers.

Companies with whom we have vertical relationships in certain areas may be or become our competitors in other areas. In addition, companies with whom we have vertical relationships also may acquire or form relationships with our competitors, which could reduce their business with us. If we are unable to effectively manage these complicated relationships with vertical partners, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

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We face aggressive price competition and may continue to do so. As a consequence of inflation and higher supply chain and manufacturing costs, we have in the past increased the prices of many of our products and services to maintain or improve our revenue and gross margin, and may do so again in the future. In addition, competitors who have a greater presence in some of the lower-cost markets in which we compete, or who can obtain better pricing, more favorable contractual terms and conditions, or more favorable allocations of products and components during periods of limited supply may be able to offer lower prices than we are able to offer. In an effort to better compete with our competitors, we have offered heavier than normal discounts on the sale of certain products and services, which have negatively impacted our financial results. Our future cash flows, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected by these and other industry-wide pricing pressures and our actions in response thereto.

Because our business model is based on providing innovative and high-quality products and services, we may spend a proportionately greater amount of our revenues on R&D than some of our competitors. If we cannot proportionately decrease our cost structure (apart from R&D expenses) on a timely basis in response to competitive price pressures, our profitability could be adversely affected. In addition, if our pricing and other facets of our offerings are not sufficiently competitive, or if there is an adverse reaction to our product decisions, we may lose market share in certain areas, which could adversely affect our financial performance and business prospects.

Even if we are able to maintain or increase market share for a particular product, its financial performance could decline because the product is in a maturing industry or market segment or contains technology that is becoming obsolete. Financial performance could decline due to increased competition from other types of products that perform similar functions as our offerings.

Our uneven sales cycle and supply chain disruptions make planning and inventory management difficult and future financial results less predictable.

In some of our businesses, our quarterly sales have periodically reflected a pattern in which a disproportionate percentage of each quarter's total sales occurs towards the end of the quarter. This uneven sales pattern makes predicting revenue, earnings, cash flow from operations, and working capital for each financial period difficult, increases the risk of unanticipated variations in our quarterly results and financial condition, and places pressure on our inventory management and logistics systems. If predicted demand is substantially greater than orders, there may be excess inventory and greater risk of inventory write downs. Alternatively, if orders substantially exceed predicted demand, we may not be able to fulfill all of the orders received in each quarter and such orders may be canceled. As a result of such variations in predicted demand, we have experienced these impacts from time to time and may do so again in the future. Depending on when they occur in a quarter, developments such as a systems failure, component pricing movements, component shortages, or global logistics disruptions, have in the past adversely impacted, and could in the future adversely impact, our inventory levels and results of operations in a manner that is disproportionate to the number of days in the quarter affected. We experience some seasonal trends in the sale of our products that also have produced, and may in the future produce, variations in our quarterly results and financial condition. Many of the factors that create and affect seasonal trends are beyond our control.

Separately, periodic supply chain shortages and constraints have, in some instances, resulted in, and may result in, increases to the costs of production of our hardware products that we have, at times, not been able to, and may, in the future, not be able to pass on to our customers. We have, in some instances, responded to such constraints by committing to higher inventory purchases and balances relative to our historical positions in order to secure manufacturing capacity, components to fulfill orders, or both. While these measures have been taken to shorten lead times to deliver products to customers, they may also result in excess or obsolete components in the future if the demand for our products is less than we anticipate or orders are cancelled, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Contracts with federal, state, provincial, and local governments are subject to a number of challenges and risks that may adversely impact our business.

Our contracts with federal, state, provincial, and local governmental customers are subject to various government procurement laws and regulations, required contract provisions, and other requirements relating to contract formation, administration, and performance, as well as local content, manufacturing, information security and security requirements. Any violation of government contracting laws and regulations or contract terms could result in the imposition of various civil and criminal penalties, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments and fines, treble damages, and suspension from future government contracting. Additionally, changes in underlying regulatory requirements that vary across the geographies in which we operate could increase compliance costs and risks. Such failures could also cause reputational damage to our business. In addition, in the US, we will continue to be subject to qui tam litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government relating to our government contracts. If we are suspended or disbarred from government work or if our ability to compete for new government contracts is adversely affected, our financial performance could suffer.

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Government contracts impose additional challenges and risks to our sales efforts. Government demand and payment for our products and services may be impacted by public sector staffing and available resources, budgetary cycles and funding authorizations, including in connection with an extended government shutdown, with funding reductions, or delays adversely affecting public sector demand for our products and services. Such developments could result in material payment delays, payment reductions, or contract terminations by our governmental customers, which may impact our results of operations and financial condition. These may also adversely impact the results of operations and financial condition of government contractors with whom we conduct business. This may cause those government contractors to become unable to meet their obligations under contracts with us.

We may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of our cost reduction programs and actions, some or all of which may be disruptive to our business.

We have announced a cost reduction program to reduce structural operating costs and continue advancing the Company's ongoing commitment to profitable growth. We may not be able to obtain the cost savings and benefits that are initially anticipated in connection with such program. Additionally, as a result of this program and the actions contemplated thereby, we may experience a loss of continuity, loss of accumulated knowledge and/or inefficiency during transitional periods. Implementing and overseeing such actions can require a significant amount of management and other employees' time and focus, which may divert attention from operating and growing our business. If we fail to achieve some or all of the expected benefits of this program, it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

There were no unregistered sales of equity securities during the period covered by this report.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

As of January 31, 2025, the Company had a remaining authorization of approximately $0.8 billion for future share repurchases.

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Trading Plans

During the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2025, the following trading plans were adopted or terminated by our directors or officers, as applicable:

(1) Each trading arrangement marked as a “Rule 10b5-1 Trading Arrangement” is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c), as amended (the “Rule”).

(2) Each trading arrangement marked as a “Rule 10b5-1 Trading Arrangement” only permits transactions after the indicated duration start date and, in any case, upon expiration of the applicable mandatory cooling-off period under the Rule, and until the earlier of the indicated duration end date or completion of all sales contemplated in the Rule 10b5-1 Trading Arrangement.

Exchange Act Section 13(r) Disclosure

The following disclosure is being made under Section 13(r) of the Exchange Act:

On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Secretary of State designated the Russian Federal Security Service (“FSB”) as a party subject to the provisions of U.S. Executive Order No. 13382 issued in 2005 (“Executive Order 13382”). On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) updated General License 1B (“General License 1B”) which generally authorizes U.S. companies to engage in certain licensing, permitting, certification, notification, and related transactions with the FSB as may be required for the importation, distribution, or use of information technology products in the Russian Federation. Our local Russian subsidiary (“HPE Russia”) may be required to engage with the FSB as a licensing authority and to file documents. There are no gross revenues or net profits directly associated with any such dealings by HPE with the FSB and all such dealings are explicitly authorized by General License 1B. We plan to continue these activities as required to support our orderly and managed wind down of our Russia operations.

On April 15, 2021, the U.S. Government issued an executive order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation (“Executive Order 14024”), implementing additional U.S. sanctions against the Russian government and against Russian actors that threaten U.S. interests, including certain technology companies that support the Russian Intelligence Service. The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury designated Pozitiv Teknolodzhiz, AO (“Positive Technologies”) under Executive Order 14024 and Executive Order 13382. HPE Russia had dealings with Positive Technologies prior to its designation. Following the sanctions designation, HPE Russia immediately initiated procedures to terminate its relationship with Positive Technologies. HPE does not plan to engage in any further transactions with this entity, except wind down activities that are authorized by OFAC going forward. HPE Russia continues to have blocked property associated with Positive Technologies. No action will be taken unless and until a license is received from OFAC authorizing collection of the property. There are no identifiable gross revenues or net profits associated with HPE’s activities related to Positive Technologies for this reporting period.

For a summary of our revenue recognition policies, see “Revenue Recognition” described in Note 1, “Overview and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024.

The Exhibit Index beginning on page 63 of this report sets forth a list of exhibits.

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HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

EXHIBIT INDEX

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• Indicates management contract or compensation plan, contract or arrangement

‡ Filed herewith

† Furnished herewith

The registrant agrees to furnish to the Commission supplementally upon request a copy of any instrument with respect to long-term debt not filed herewith as to which the total amount of securities authorized thereunder does not exceed 10% of the total assets of the registrant and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 7, 2025