Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock gains after Q3 earnings beat

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) reported above-consensus earnings for the third quarter when higher demand in the non-US markets lifted revenues. The stock gained in the after-market trading following the announcement.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $670 million or $0.44 per share for the June quarter, higher than $497 million or $0.30 per share reported in the prior-year quarter. Unadjusted earnings jumped to $0.29 per share from $0.10 per share in the third quarter of 2017.

Revenues of the Palo Alto, California-based information technology company moved up 3.5% annually to $7.76 billion during the three-month period, exceeding analysts’ forecast.  Hybrid IT, which accounts for the lion’s share of net revenues, grew about 3%. Among the other segments, Intelligent Edge registered a double-digit growth.

Sales in the Americas, which represent about 40% of total revenues, witnessed a decline, while all the overseas markets registered growth. During the quarter, Hewlett Packard returned $1.1 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends.

Sales in the Americas witnessed a decline, while all the overseas markets registered growth

Buoyed by the strong results, the management revised up its full-year earnings guidance to the range of $1.85 per share to $1.90 per share and the adjusted earnings outlook to the $1.50-$1.55 per share range. The earnings forecast is $0.16 -$0.21 per share for the fourth quarter when adjusted earnings are expected to be in the range of $0.39 per share to $0.44 per share.

“Solid execution across each of our business segments, combined with market momentum, will enable us to deliver FY18 revenue and earnings well beyond our original outlook provided at our Securities Analyst Meeting last year,” said CEO Antonio Neri.

The past twelve months were a period of mixed activity for Hewlett Packard stock, which surged to an all-time high in March but retreated in the following months, limiting the net gain to just 17%.  The stock closed Tuesday’s regular trading up 2% and gained further during the extended session following the earnings report.

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