Hewlett Packard Enterprise vs Western Digital
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Western Digital side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the larger business, with $34.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $12.9B for Western Digital, about 2.7 times as much.
- Western Digital grew revenue faster (35.7%, against 13.8%).
- Western Digital kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (34.5% operating margin, against −1.3%).
- Western Digital turned more of its sales into free cash flow (27.2% FCF margin, against 1.8%).
- Western Digital earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (52.2%, against −0.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s earnings: a P/E of 30.4x against 13.8x for Western Digital.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
HPE
2/10
5-year growthShare count change
Western Digital
WDC
8/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | HPE FY25 | WDC FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $85.1B | $136.8B |
| Revenue | $34.3B | $12.9B |
| Free cash flow | $627M | $3.5B |
| Net income | $57.0M | $9.4B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 13.8% | 35.7% |
| 5-year growth | 4.9% | −5.3% |
| Share count change | −1.0% | 6.7% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 48.9% |
| Operating margin | −1.3% | 34.5% |
| Net margin | 0.2% | 73.0% |
| FCF margin | 1.8% | 27.2% |
| Return on capital | −0.9% | 52.2% |
| Return on equity | 0.2% | 133.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $20.6B | −$527M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 9.0x | −0.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $886M | $2.8B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 30.4x | 13.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.