HPE
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
HPE has the edge over VZ overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
HPE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
HPE's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
HPE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.4x | $12.41 | -75% |
| Forward | 11x | $50.16 | — |
| Fair | 16x | $30.89 | -38% |
| Expensive | 26x | $49.82 | -0.7% |
| Current | 26x | $50.16 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HPE's PE is in its expensive range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 11x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ has the edge over HPE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HPE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
HPE has the edge over VZ on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
HPE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.68 | +141% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.94 | +128% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.09 | +6.9% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.17 | -108% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.04 | -102% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.85 | -39% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.02 | -26% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.08 | +43% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.93 | +25% |
HPE's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.94 over the past year, against $2.82 in mid-2022.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ has the edge over HPE on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
HPE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.2B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.7B | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.3B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.7B | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.1B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.6B | +5.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.9B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.5B | +15% |
HPE has the edge over VZ on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +8.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7% | +22 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1% | -8.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.7% | -4.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -15% | -20 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.5% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.2% | +1.3 points |
HPE's operating margin was 11% last quarter, up 8.7 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over HPE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HPE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $896M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $827M | +$1.8B |
| Q1 2026 | $609M | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.8B | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $729M | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1B | -289% |
| Q1 2025 | -$918M | -$326M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | -34% |
HPE generated $4.2B in free cash flow over the past year, more than ten times what it generated the year before.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ has the edge over HPE on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HPE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +17M shares |
| 1 year | +2% | +28M shares |
| 3 years | +10% | +133M shares |
| 5 years | +8.3% | +111M shares |
| Available history | +6.1% | +83M shares |
HPE has 1.4B diluted shares, up 2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $135M |
| Q2 2026 | $154M |
| Q1 2026 | $158M |
| Q4 2025 | $100M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $50M |
| Q1 2025 | $52M |
| Q4 2024 | $50M |
HPE spent $547M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent the year before.
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over HPE on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
HPE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.2x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 6.9x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.7x | Very low |
HPE has the edge over VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
HPE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.0 | Neutral |
HPE's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 22 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
HPE PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | HPE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 7.2% below |
| PE % | 83 | 35 | 48 pts above |
HPE is trading at 26x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over HPE on valuation relative to its sector.
HPE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $58.5 | 14% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.6 | 8.1% below |
| 50 week MA | $38.8 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $29.6 | 70% above |
| 200 week MA | $23.5 | 114% above |
HPE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 114% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over HPE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
HPE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.9 | $11.8 | -26% |
| 2021 | $11.8 | $15.8 | +34% |
| 2022 | $15.8 | $15.8 | -0.1% |
| 2023 | $15.8 | $17.0 | +7.8% |
| 2024 | $17.0 | $21.7 | +28% |
| 2025 | $21.7 | $24.5 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $24.5 | $50.2 | +105% |
HPE has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.