HPE Reports Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter Results

Q3 marked by strong orders, profitability and free cash flow

Raising FY21 EPS and FCF outlook; Reinstating share repurchases

Q3 2021 Financial Highlights:

• Orders: Strengthening demand accelerates growth, up strong double-digits from the prior-year period and year-to-date up 11% from the prior-year period
• Revenue: $6.9 billion, up 3% sequentially and in-line with Q3 outlook of normal sequential seasonality; up 1% from the prior-year period
  • Intelligent Edge revenue: $867 million, up 27% from the prior-year period
  • HPC & MCS revenue: $741 million, up 11% from the prior-year period
  • Annualized revenue run-rate (ARR): $705 million, up 33% from the prior-year period
• Diluted net earnings per share (“EPS”):
  • GAAP of $0.29, above the previously provided outlook of $0.04 to $0.10 per share
  • Non-GAAP of $0.47, up 31% from the prior-year period and above the previously provided outlook of $0.38 to $0.44 per share
• Cash flow from operations year-to-date: $2.9 billion, up $1.4 billion from the prior-year period
• Free cash flow year-to-date: $1.5 billion, up $1.1 billion from the prior-year period

Capital Returns:

• Declared a regular cash dividend of $0.12 per share, payable on October 6, 2021
• Reinstating share repurchase program and targeting share repurchases of up to $250 million in Q4 FY21

Outlook:

• Fourth quarter Fiscal 2021: Estimates GAAP diluted net EPS to be in the range of $0.14 to $0.22 and non-GAAP diluted net EPS to be in the range of $0.44 to $0.52
• Fiscal 2021: Raises GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to $0.80 to $0.88 and non-GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to $1.88 to $1.96
• Fiscal 2021 free cash flow¹: Raises free cash flow guidance to $1.5 to $1.7 billion

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced financial results for the third quarter, ended July 31, 2021.

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HPE Reports Q3 FY21 Results Infographic

“We delivered a very impressive Q3 performance, marked by strong order growth, expanded margins and record free cash flow,” said Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “I am pleased to see how our differentiated portfolio is resonating with the market, and our edge-to-cloud strategy is driving improved momentum across our businesses.”

“The impacts of the pandemic continue to accelerate the shift we predicted years ago to an edge-centric, cloud-enabled and data-driven world,” he continued. “Now, more than ever, companies need secure connectivity, faster insights from data, and a cloud experience everywhere. We expect those trends to continue. Digital transformation is no longer a priority but a strategic imperative.”

“We are once again raising our full-year guidance to reflect the continued momentum in the demand environment and our strong execution,” said Tarek Robbiati, EVP and CFO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “This marks the fourth increase in our outlook since our Securities Analyst Meeting in October 2020.”

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Results

Net revenue of $6.9 billion, up 3% sequentially and in-line with Q3 outlook of normal sequential seasonality; up 1% from the prior-year period or down 2% when adjusted for currency.

Annualized revenue run-rate (ARR) of $705 million, up 33% from the prior-year period and total as-a-Service orders were up 46% from the prior-year period. Based on strong customer demand and recent wins, we reiterate our 2020 Securities Analyst Meeting ARR guidance of 30-40% Compounded Annual Growth Rate from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2023.

GAAP gross margins of 34.5%, up 420 basis points from the prior-year period and Non-GAAP gross margins of 34.7%, up 420 basis points from the prior-year period.

GAAP diluted net earnings per share (“EPS”) was $0.29, compared to $0.01 in the prior-year period and above the previously provided outlook of $0.04 to $0.10 per share.

Non-GAAP diluted net EPS was $0.47, compared to $0.36 in the prior-year period and above the previously provided outlook of $0.38 to $0.44 per share. Third quarter non-GAAP net earnings and non-GAAP diluted net EPS exclude after-tax adjustments of $231 million or $0.18 per diluted share, respectively, primarily related to transformation costs, stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets.

Cash flow from operations of approximately $1,130 million, down $342 million from the prior-year period.

Free cash flow of $526 million, down $398 million from the prior-year period.

Segment Results

• Intelligent Edge revenue was $867 million, up 27% from the prior-year period or 23% when adjusted for currency, with 15.8% operating profit margin, compared to 10.4% from the prior-year period. Switching was up over 20% from the prior-year period when adjusted for currency, WLAN was up mid-single digits percentage from the prior-year period when adjusted for currency, and Aruba SaaS offering was up triple-digits from the prior-year period.
• High Performance Compute & Mission Critical Systems (HPC & MCS) revenue was $741 million, up 11% from the prior-year period or 9% when adjusted for currency, with 3.9% operating profit margin, compared to 7.0% from the prior-year period. We remain on track to achieve our full year and 3-year revenue growth CAGR target of 8% to 12%.
• Compute revenue was $3.1 billion, down 9% from the prior-year period or down 12% when adjusted for currency, with 11.2% operating profit margin, compared to 9.3% from the prior-year period. Revenue was up 4% from the prior-quarter period and 4% from the prior-quarter period when adjusted for currency, and in-line with normal sequential seasonality.
• Storage revenue was $1.2 billion, up 4% from the prior-year period or up 1% when adjusted for currency, with 15.1% operating profit margin, compared to 15.0% from the prior-year period. Notable strength in software-defined solutions, including Nimble, up 10% from the prior-year period when adjusted for currency with strong momentum in dHCI growing double-digits. All flash Arrays grew over 30% from the prior-year period led by Primera, up strong double-digits from the prior-year period.
• Financial Services revenue was $844 million, up 4% from the prior-year period or flat when adjusted for currency, with 11.1% operating profit margin, compared to 8.1% from the prior-year period. Net portfolio assets were down 2% from the prior-year period or down 3% when adjusted for currency. The business delivered return on equity of 18.3%, up 5.2 points from the prior-year period.

Dividend

Board of Directors have declared a regular cash dividend of $0.12 per share on the company's common stock. This dividend, the fourth in Hewlett Packard Enterprise's fiscal year 2021, is payable on October 6, 2021, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 13, 2021.

Fiscal 2021 fourth quarter outlook:

Hewlett Packard Enterprise estimates GAAP diluted net EPS to be in the range of $0.14 to $0.22 and non-GAAP diluted net EPS to be in the range of $0.44 to $0.52. Fiscal 2021 fourth quarter non-GAAP diluted net EPS estimates exclude after-tax adjustments of approximately $0.30 per diluted share, primarily related to transformation costs, stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets.

Fiscal 2021 outlook:

Hewlett Packard Enterprise raises GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to $0.80 to $0.88 from $0.60 to $0.72 and non-GAAP diluted net EPS outlook to $1.88 to $1.96 from $1.82 to $1.94. Fiscal 2021 non-GAAP diluted net EPS estimates exclude after-tax adjustments of approximately $1.08 per diluted share, primarily related to transformation costs, stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets.

Raises free cash flow¹ guidance range to $1.5 to $1.7 billion from $1.2 to $1.5 billion.

¹Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides certain guidance on a non-GAAP basis, as the company cannot predict some elements that are included in reported GAAP results. Refer to the discussion of non-GAAP financial measures below for more information.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global edge-to-cloud platform as-a-service company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way people live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions, with a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, to help customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance. For more information, visit: www.hpe.com.

Use of non-GAAP financial information and key performance metrics

To supplement Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s condensed consolidated financial statement information presented on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides revenue on a constant currency basis, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross profit margin, non-GAAP operating profit (non-GAAP earnings from operations), non-GAAP operating profit margin, non-GAAP income tax rate, non-GAAP net earnings, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, gross cash, free cash flow, net debt, net cash, operating company net debt and operating company net cash financial measures. Hewlett Packard Enterprise also provides forecasts of non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share and free cash flow. A reconciliation of adjustments to GAAP financial measures for this quarter and prior periods is included in the tables below or elsewhere in the materials accompanying this news release. In addition, an explanation of the ways in which Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate its business, the substance behind Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s decision to use these non-GAAP measures, the material limitations associated with the use of these non-GAAP measures, the manner in which Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s management compensates for those limitations, and the substantive reasons why Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors is included under “Use of non-GAAP financial measures” further below. This additional non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for revenue, gross profit, gross profit margin, operating profit (earnings from operations), operating profit margin, net earnings, diluted net earnings per share, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, cash flow from operations, investments in property, plant and equipment, or total company debt prepared in accordance with GAAP.

In addition to the supplemental non-GAAP financial information, Hewlett Packard Enterprise also presents annualized revenue run-rate ("ARR") and as-a-Service ("AAS") orders as performance metrics. ARR is a financial metric used to assess the growth of the Consumption Services ("CS") offerings. ARR represents the annualized value of all recurring net GreenLake services revenue, related financial services revenue (which includes rental income for operating leases and interest income for capital leases), and Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS"), subscription, and other as-a-Service offerings recognized during a quarter and multiplied by four. AAS orders are an overlay across all business segments contributing to HPE's consumption based services (both recurring and non-recurring revenues), and includes hardware, as well as GreenLake as-a-Service, Aruba SaaS, CMS SaaS, and other Software assets. ARR & AAS orders should be viewed independently of net revenue and deferred revenue and are not intended to be combined with any of these items.

Forward-looking statements

This press release 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", "optimistic", "intend", "aim", "will", "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 the scope and duration of the novel coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19") and its impact on our business, operations, liquidity and capital resources, employees, customers, partners, supply chain, financial results and the world economy; any projections of revenue, margins, expenses, investments, effective tax rates, interest rates, the impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and related guidance or regulations, 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; any projections of the amount, execution, timing and results of any transformation or impact of cost savings, restructuring plans, including estimates and assumptions related to the anticipated benefits, cost savings, or charges of implementing transformation and restructuring plans; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, as well as the execution of corporate transactions or contemplated acquisitions, 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 products or services; any statements regarding current or future macroeconomic trends or events and the impact of those trends and events on Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its financial performance; any statements regarding pending investigations, claims or disputes; any statements of expectation or belief; 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; the need to manage third-party suppliers, the distribution of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's products and the delivery of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's services effectively; 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 pandemics and public health problems, such as the outbreak of COVID-19); 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 and performance of contracts by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its suppliers, customers, clients and partners, including any impact thereon resulting from events such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the hiring and retention of key employees; the execution, integration, and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; the impact of changes to 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, and resolution of, pending investigations, claims and disputes; and other risks that are described herein, including but not limited to the risks described in Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and in other filings made by Hewlett Packard Enterprise from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As in prior periods, the financial information set forth in this press release, including tax-related items, reflects estimates based on information available at this time. While Hewlett Packard Enterprise believes these estimates to be reasonable, these amounts could differ materially from reported amounts in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2021. Hewlett Packard Enterprise assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.