HPE vs IBM vs MSFT Stock Comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise, International Business Machines and Microsoft Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSFT Microsoft Corp
$524.51 +4.8% 1M +0.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.96T
P/E
29.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$331.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cloud Platforms Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Microsoft leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Microsoft 6, Hewlett Packard Enterprise 4, International Business Machines 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHPEIBMMSFTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $78.30B $238.12B $3.96T MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.3x 22.2x 29.6x IBM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.1x 19.4x 25.7x HPE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +26.6% +7.9% +17.8% HPE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.6% 15.5% 40.3% MSFT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.6% 11.3% 26.7% MSFT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 3.3x -0.2x MSFT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.03% 0.01% IBM
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +144.5% -11.0% +0.8% HPE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +29.9%/yr +15.7%/yr +11.2%/yr HPE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.0% 51.3% 32.7% MSFT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 67/100 79/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

HPEIBMMSFT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHPEIBMMSFT
Valuation 78 #25 of 112 76 #10 of 38 54 #18 of 38
Growth 91 #11 of 109 60 #15 of 36 77 #9 of 36
Profitability 61 #42 of 105 91 #4 of 34 97 #2 of 34
Financial Health 18 #96 of 117 38 #24 of 38 84 #7 of 38
Shareholder Returns 67 #28 of 82 71 #7 of 22 81 #5 of 22
Overall 63 67 79
  • HPE ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • IBM ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHPEIBMMSFTSPY
1 month -9.1%+8.9%+4.8% -1.0%
3 months +18.8%+18.4%+37.4% +2.9%
6 months +101.3%+9.3%+23.5% +6.4%
Year to date +136.1%-14.4%+8.5% +11.4%
1 year +144.5%-11.0%+0.8% +13.1%
3 years +270.8%+84.0%+58.7% +79.4%
3 years, per year +54.8%+22.6%+16.7% +21.5%
5 years +269.1%+107.4%+69.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +29.9%+15.7%+11.2% +10.9%
10 years +351.1%+77.3%+779.2% +255.2%
10 years, per year +16.3%+5.9%+24.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHPEIBMMSFTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.0%51.3%32.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.2%59.9%30.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.100.881.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.49-0.210.02 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.8%-37.4%-37.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.8%-23.0%-3.5% -2.5%
52-week high $73.46$329.23$543.45 $779.14
52-week low $20.00$205.96$352.83 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHPEIBMMSFT
P/E now vs peer median 27.4xmedian 31.3x 22.3xmedian 29.1x 29.1xmedian 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.6x 3.5xmedian 4.5x 11.7xmedian 4.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 19.6x 17.9xmedian 21.5x 19.4xmedian 21.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 28.3x 17.3xmedian 17.3x 58.2xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.9x 6.9xmedian 3.9x 8.8xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.84median 1.15 0.31median 0.33 1.28median 0.33

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHPEIBMMSFT
Revenue $41.87B $69.10B $331.84B
Gross profit $15.41B $40.15B $225.47B
Operating income $2.60B $11.11B $155.24B
Net income $2.79B $10.73B $133.75B
Free cash flow $4.16B $13.79B $66.99B
R&D $3.71B $8.75B $35.56B
EPS (diluted) $1.91 $11.25 $17.95
Cash & equivalents $6.22B $7.17B $20.94B
Total debt $79.82B $252.72B $164.03B
Shares (diluted) 1.45B 953.30M 7.45B
Enterprise value $56.17B $188.94B $3.88T

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHPEIBMMSFT
P/E 27.4x 22.3x 29.1x
P/FCF 18.1x 17.3x 58.2x
P/Operating cash flow 11.2x 16.0x 21.3x
P/S 1.8x 3.5x 11.7x
P/B 2.8x 6.9x 8.8x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 11.6x 9.2x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 17.9x 19.4x
EV/EBIT 34.3x 26.3x 24.9x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 4.2x 11.6x
EV/FCF 21.5x 21.2x 57.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.3x 19.7x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.84 0.31 1.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHPEIBMMSFT
Revenue growth (1Y) 26.6% 7.9% 17.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 4.5% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 71.5% 8.9% 16.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 6.7% 15.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 885.6% 19.6% 20.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.9% 13.5% 20.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 123.6% 83.9% 31.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 37.3% 74.3% 22.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 122.2% 82.8% 31.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.5% 72.3% 22.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 169.5% 12.1% 34.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 6.6% 27.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,747% 12.7% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.5% 8.2% 4.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHPEIBMMSFT
Gross margin 36.8% 58.1% 67.9%
EBITDA margin 14.5% 23.6% 59.9%
Operating margin 6.2% 16.1% 46.8%
Pretax margin 6.3% 15.1% 50.0%
Net margin 6.6% 15.5% 40.3%
FCF margin 9.9% 20.0% 20.2%
Operating cash flow margin 16.0% 21.5% 55.1%
Return on equity 10.7% 31.7% 31.2%
Return on assets 3.4% 7.0% 18.4%
Return on invested capital 5.6% 11.3% 26.7%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 9.4% 27.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 2.7% 3.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHPEIBMMSFT
Debt / assets 24.2% 40.8% 5.3%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.8x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x 3.3x -0.2x
Debt / FCF 4.9x 4.5x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 68.2% 77.3% 41.7%
Equity / assets 31.8% 22.7% 58.3%
Interest coverage – 5.8x 50.9x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.8x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.43 3.29 9.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHPEIBMMSFT
Dividend yield 1.0% 2.7% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.7% -0.3% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 2.4% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 26.5% 58.8% 19.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.8% 45.8% 39.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.4% 1.7% 9.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 1.7% 10.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHPEIBMMSFT
Forward P/E 14.1xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 25.7xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.03FY2026 $13.05FY2026 $20.38FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +107.7%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +17.9%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +19.4% -1.8% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $49.18BFY2026 $66.19BFY2026 $402.02BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +43.4%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026 +21.1%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% +15.9% +12.7%
HPE estimates →IBM estimates →MSFT estimates →

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHPEIBMMSFT
Held by institutions 88.5% 65.1% 73.9%
Institutions holding 1,438 3,632 6,227
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.5% +3.5% +3.3%
Institutions buying 869 1,973 3,432
Institutions selling 411 1,226 2,425
Buyers to sellers 2.11 1.61 1.42
HPE holders →IBM holders →MSFT holders →

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HPEIBMMSFT
HPE 1.00 0.15 0.09
IBM 0.15 1.00 0.26
MSFT 0.09 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry
HPE · Server and Storage Hardware
+DELLDell Technologies +ANETArista Networks +SNDKSandisk +STXSeagate Technology Holdings +WDCWestern Digital +PEverpure +NTAPNetApp +SMCISuper Micro Computer
Plot all 45 Server and Storage Hardware stocks → Plot all 39 Cloud Platforms stocks →

Related Comparisons

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HPE, IBM and MSFT?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $78.30B, International Business Machines (IBM) $238.12B, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.96T.

Which stock is cheaper, HPE, IBM and MSFT?

International Business Machines (IBM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 28.3x, International Business Machines (IBM) 22.2x, Microsoft (MSFT) 29.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is cheapest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 14.1x, International Business Machines (IBM) 19.4x, Microsoft (MSFT) 25.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +26.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) +7.9%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Microsoft (MSFT) has the highest net margin (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 6.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) 15.5%, Microsoft (MSFT) 40.3%). On return on invested capital, Microsoft (MSFT) leads (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 5.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) 11.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) returned the most: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +144.5%, International Business Machines (IBM) -11.0%, Microsoft (MSFT) +0.8%. Over five years, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) compounded fastest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +29.9%/yr, International Business Machines (IBM) +15.7%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +11.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

International Business Machines (IBM) has the highest dividend yield: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 0.01%, International Business Machines (IBM) 0.03%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Microsoft (MSFT) has been the steadiest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 58.0%, International Business Machines (IBM) 51.3%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HPE, IBM and MSFT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Microsoft (MSFT) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.