HPE vs MSFT vs STX Stock Comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft and Seagate Technology Holdings Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MSFT Microsoft Corp
$530.14 +4.2% 1M -2.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.89T
P/E
27.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$346.45B
Div. yield
0.01%
Cloud Platforms Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Microsoft leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Microsoft 5, Seagate Technology Holdings 4, Hewlett Packard Enterprise 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHPEMSFTSTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $73.22B $3.89T $145.14B MSFT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.5x 27.3x 33.0x HPE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.6x 26.0x 18.2x HPE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +26.6% +17.9% +44.4% STX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.6% 41.2% 31.9% MSFT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.6% 26.5% 82.3% STX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -0.1x 0.2x MSFT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% HPE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +142.6% -2.1% +163.7% STX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +32.1%/yr +9.8%/yr +51.1%/yr STX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.2% 32.6% 73.9% MSFT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 80/100 67/100 MSFT

Percentile Scorecard

HPEMSFTSTX

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

AxisHPEMSFTSTX
Valuation 78 #25 of 112 60 #16 of 38 32 #77 of 112
Growth 91 #11 of 108 74 #10 of 36 99 #2 of 108
Profitability 59 #43 of 104 97 #2 of 34 100 #1 of 104
Financial Health 17 #97 of 116 83 #7 of 37 44 #65 of 116
Shareholder Returns 70 #24 of 78 84 #4 of 20 62 #30 of 78
Overall 63 80 67
  • HPE ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • MSFT ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • STX ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHPEMSFTSTXSPY
1 month -4.3%+4.2%-23.3% +0.7%
3 months +24.9%+17.5%-17.8% +3.7%
6 months +104.6%+30.0%+4.0% +7.1%
Year to date +145.1%+9.6%+154.4% +12.8%
1 year +142.6%-2.1%+163.7% +11.9%
3 years +284.8%+57.2%+923.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +56.7%+16.3%+117.3% +22.8%
5 years +301.8%+59.9%+686.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year +32.1%+9.8%+51.1% +10.9%
10 years +356.7%+785.5%+1,951.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +16.4%+24.4%+35.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHPEMSFTSTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.2%32.6%73.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.9%30.7%76.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.120.992.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.45-0.062.21 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.8%-37.6%-58.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.9%-2.4%-36.0% -1.2%
52-week high $73.46$543.45$1,094.04 $779.14
52-week low $20.00$352.83$237.49 $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.

MultipleHPEMSFTSTX
P/E now vs peer median 28.5xmedian 32.9x 27.6xmedian 27.6x 36.3xmedian 32.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.9x 11.4xmedian 4.6x 11.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.1xmedian 20.0x 19.0xmedian 25.6x 28.2xmedian 20.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 30.2x 65.7xmedian 15.4x 38.7xmedian 30.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 2.9x 8.4xmedian 4.1x 46.6xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.88median 1.08 1.21median 0.80 0.39median 1.08

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 monthsHPEMSFTSTX
Revenue $41.87B $346.45B $13.80B
Gross profit $15.41B $234.39B $6.95B
Operating income $2.60B $163.19B $5.46B
Net income $2.79B $142.63B $4.40B
Free cash flow $4.16B $59.96B $4.16B
R&D $3.71B $36.46B $769.00M
EPS (diluted) $1.91 $19.16 $18.95
Cash & equivalents $6.22B $20.28B $1.26B
Total debt $20.24B $35.48B $2.35B
Shares (diluted) 1.45B 7.45B 232.00M
Enterprise value $51.10B $3.83T $139.98B

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
MetricHPEMSFTSTX
P/E 28.5x 27.6x 36.3x
P/FCF 18.8x 65.7x 38.7x
P/Operating cash flow 11.7x 20.1x 33.3x
P/S 1.9x 11.4x 11.7x
P/B 2.9x 8.4x 46.6x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 8.7x 46.6x
EV/EBITDA 15.1x 19.0x 28.2x
EV/EBIT 35.4x 23.9x 29.6x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 11.3x 11.7x
EV/FCF 22.2x 65.2x 39.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.8x 20.0x 33.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.88 1.21 0.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHPEMSFTSTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 26.6% 17.9% 44.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 16.6% 26.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 71.5% 16.0% 97.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 15.6% 89.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 885.6% 20.0% 150.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.9% 20.2% 125.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 123.6% 36.0% 156.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 37.3% 22.8% 99.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 122.2% 36.3% 150.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.5% 22.8% 94.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 169.5% 33.2% 217.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 27.3% 80.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,747% -23.1% 241.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.5% -1.8% 93.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHPEMSFTSTX
Gross margin 36.8% 67.7% 50.4%
EBITDA margin 14.5% 59.3% 41.6%
Operating margin 6.2% 47.1% 39.6%
Pretax margin 6.3% 51.3% 36.7%
Net margin 6.6% 41.2% 31.9%
FCF margin 9.9% 17.3% 30.1%
Operating cash flow margin 16.0% 56.5% 35.0%
Return on equity 10.7% 31.2% 156.4%
Return on assets 3.4% 18.6% 43.3%
Return on invested capital 5.6% 26.5% 82.3%
Return on capital employed 5.1% 26.5% 76.1%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 1.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x 1.4x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 3.6% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHPEMSFTSTX
Debt / assets 24.2% 4.6% 22.8%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.3x -0.1x 0.2x
Debt / FCF 4.9x 0.6x 0.6x
Liabilities / assets 68.2% 39.6% 66.6%
Equity / assets 31.8% 60.4% 33.4%
Interest coverage – 50.6x 22.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.2x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.46 9.47 16.77

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHPEMSFTSTX
Dividend yield 1.0% 0.7% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 0.5% 0.3%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 1.2% 0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 26.5% 19.0% 14.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.8% 45.1% 15.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.4% 9.5% 7.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.1% 10.1% 3.8%

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.

ConsensusHPEMSFTSTX
Forward P/E 14.6xFY2026 26.0xFY2027 18.2xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.03FY2026 $20.39FY2027 $38.53FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +107.7%FY2026 +18.0%FY2027 +147.3%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +19.4% +11.6% +63.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $49.18BFY2026 $402.39BFY2027 $19.55BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +43.4%FY2026 +21.3%FY2027 +60.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% +12.9% +29.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHPEMSFTSTX
Held by institutions 88.5% 73.9% 83.8%
Institutions holding 1,441 6,231 1,957
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.5% +3.3% +1.4%
Institutions buying 872 3,435 1,209
Institutions selling 411 2,426 590
Buyers to sellers 2.12 1.42 2.05

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.

HPEMSFTSTX
HPE 1.00 0.09 0.32
MSFT 0.09 1.00 0.00
STX 0.32 0.00 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HPE, MSFT and STX?

Microsoft (MSFT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $73.22B, Microsoft (MSFT) $3.89T, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) $145.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, HPE, MSFT and STX?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 26.5x, Microsoft (MSFT) 27.3x, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 33.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is cheapest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 14.6x, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.0x, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 18.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +26.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) +17.9%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) +44.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Microsoft (MSFT) has the highest net margin (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 6.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) 41.2%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 31.9%). On return on invested capital, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) leads (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 5.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) 26.5%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 82.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) returned the most: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +142.6%, Microsoft (MSFT) -2.1%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) +163.7%. Over five years, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) compounded fastest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +32.1%/yr, Microsoft (MSFT) +9.8%/yr, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) +51.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has the highest dividend yield: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 0.01%, Microsoft (MSFT) 0.01%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 0.00%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Microsoft (MSFT) has been the steadiest (Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 58.2%, Microsoft (MSFT) 32.6%, Seagate Technology Holdings (STX) 73.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 5. 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.