What does gross margin mean?

How much of every sales dollar is left after the direct cost of what was sold.

How do you interpret gross margin?

Higher and stable gross margins indicate pricing power and a durable cost structure. A declining trend signals input-cost pressure, pricing competition, or a shift toward lower-margin products.

How does gross margin compare across companies?

Highly comparable within an industry, less so across industries — software runs 70%+ while distributors run in single digits. Track the trend more than the absolute level across sectors.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE Gross margin

Discontinued — last reported Q4 '20

Gross margin at other companies

International Business MachinesIBM

58.4%+1.3pp

Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO

64.3%-0.9pp

NetAppNTAP

70.7%+0.6pp

AmazonAMZN

50.6%+1.4pp

Super Micro Computer, Inc.SMCI

8.4%-2.9pp

Dell TechnologiesDELL

19.1%-3.0pp

Other financials

Income statement

See full

Revenue$10.7B+40.0%

Operating income$747.0M+167%

Net income$624.0M+159%

EPS (diluted)$0.44+154%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$5.4B-54.6%

Total debt$23.5B+40.3%

Total equity$25.3B+6.0%

Total assets$79.5B+17.2%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$1.4B+406%

CapEx$583.0M+6.6%

Free cash flow$827.0M+182%

Valuation

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Market cap$63.83B+79.6%

Enterprise value$81.97B+115%

P/E41×+16.6×

P/S1.7×+0.5×

Profitability

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Operating margin3.8%+2.0pp

Net margin4%-0.6pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity6.3%-0.1pp

Debt / equity0.9×+0.2×

Current ratio1.1×-0.2×

Where this comes from

Calculated from Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s reported figures.

gross profit/total revenue=31.4%

Based on trailing twelve months.

The official record: Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 10-Q, filed September 1, 2022, on SEC EDGAR. View the filing →

Questions, answered.

What does gross margin mean?: How much of every sales dollar is left after the direct cost of what was sold.
How do you interpret gross margin?: Higher and stable gross margins indicate pricing power and a durable cost structure. A declining trend signals input-cost pressure, pricing competition, or a shift toward lower-margin products.
How does gross margin compare across companies?: Highly comparable within an industry, less so across industries — software runs 70%+ while distributors run in single digits. Track the trend more than the absolute level across sectors.