NLST vs WDC vs HPE Stock Comparison

Netlist, Western Digital and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NLST Netlist Inc
$6.94 +28.0% 1M +951.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.32B
P/E
2,793x
Revenue (TTM)
$332.69M
Div. yield
–
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
4 wins
WDC Western Digital Corp
$396.42 -12.5% 1M +217.3% 1Y
Market cap
$148.39B
P/E
14.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.48B
Div. yield
0.14%
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionNLSTWDCHPELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.32B $148.39B $80.17B WDC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 2,793x 14.5x 29.2x WDC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.5x 16.5x 15.0x NLST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +129.2% +43.0% +26.6% NLST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.2% 69.2% 6.6% WDC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 53.8% 5.6% WDC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -40.8x -0.1x 2.3x NLST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.14% 0.93% HPE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +951.5% +217.3% +148.9% NLST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr +58.6%/yr +32.8%/yr WDC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 104.8% 81.3% 58.1% HPE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 78/100 62/100 WDC

Percentile Scorecard

NLSTWDCHPE

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

AxisNLSTWDCHPE
Valuation 7 #103 of 111 50 #56 of 111 78 #25 of 111
Growth 93 #9 of 108 98 #3 of 108 90 #12 of 108
Profitability 38 #65 of 104 98 #3 of 104 59 #43 of 104
Financial Health 52 #56 of 115 68 #38 of 115 17 #96 of 115
Shareholder Returns 34 #52 of 78 78 #18 of 78 66 #27 of 78
Overall 45 78 62
  • NLST ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • WDC ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • HPE ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNLSTWDCHPESPY
1 month +28.0%-12.5%-3.7% +0.9%
3 months +185.6%-14.2%+35.8% +5.9%
6 months +225.8%-4.0%+113.3% +8.5%
Year to date +679.8%+130.1%+151.3% +13.3%
1 year +951.5%+217.3%+148.9% +12.4%
3 years +542.6%+1,245.6%+296.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +86.0%+138.0%+58.4% +23.5%
5 years -12.2%+903.1%+312.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year -2.6%+58.6%+32.8% +11.0%
10 years +519.6%+785.9%+368.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +20.0%+24.4%+16.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNLSTWDCHPESPY
Volatility, 1Y 104.8%81.3%58.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 95.3%82.5%53.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.013.182.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 9.082.672.56 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.2%-55.5%-48.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-46.9%-17.8% -0.9%
52-week high $6.94$746.23$73.46 $779.14
52-week low $0.54$124.92$20.00 $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.

MultipleNLSTWDCHPE
P/E now vs peer median 2,793xmedian 33.5x 14.5xmedian 33.5x 29.2xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 7.0xmedian 2.8x 10.2xmedian 2.8x 1.9xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3,352xmedian 19.6x 24.2xmedian 19.6x 15.5xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median -149.2xmedian 29.8x 34.6xmedian 29.8x 19.3xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 99.9xmedian 2.9x 15.9xmedian 2.9x 3.0xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 106.59median 1.10 0.19median 1.10 0.90median 1.10

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 monthsNLSTWDCHPE
Revenue $332.69M $14.48B $41.87B
Gross profit $54.02M $7.62B $15.41B
Operating income $408.00K $5.71B $2.60B
Net income $789.00K $10.02B $2.79B
Free cash flow -$15.53M $4.29B $4.16B
R&D $3.92M $1.15B $3.71B
EPS (diluted) $0.00 $26.10 $1.91
Cash & equivalents $30.66M $1.31B $6.22B
Total debt $10.94M $12.58B $20.24B
Shares (diluted) 370.75M 384.00M 1.45B
Enterprise value $2.23B $138.22B $58.04B

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
MetricNLSTWDCHPE
P/E 2,793x 14.5x 29.2x
P/FCF -149.2x 34.6x 19.3x
P/Operating cash flow -149.3x 30.5x 12.0x
P/S 7.0x 10.2x 1.9x
P/B 99.9x 15.9x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 99.9x 15.9x 3.8x
EV/EBITDA 3,352x 24.2x 15.5x
EV/EBIT 5,611x 25.9x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 10.2x 2.2x
EV/FCF -147.4x 34.5x 22.7x
EV/Operating cash flow -147.5x 30.4x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 106.59 0.19 0.90

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNLSTWDCHPE
Revenue growth (1Y) 129.2% 43.0% 26.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 64.2% 57.4% 12.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1,221% 85.2% 71.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 127.6% 126.7% 13.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 101.1% 104.4% 885.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 85.5% 27.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 102.1% 288.7% 123.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 83.2% 37.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 101.6% 286.8% 122.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.2% 75.8% 32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.8% 108.7% 169.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.4% 88.3% 13.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 48.8% 121.1% 1,747%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.5% 66.0% 41.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNLSTWDCHPE
Gross margin 16.2% 52.6% 36.8%
EBITDA margin 0.2% 42.1% 14.5%
Operating margin 0.1% 39.4% 6.2%
Pretax margin 0.2% 73.2% 6.3%
Net margin 0.2% 69.2% 6.6%
FCF margin -4.7% 29.6% 9.9%
Operating cash flow margin -4.7% 33.6% 16.0%
Return on equity 4.7% 110.0% 10.7%
Return on assets 1.0% 71.3% 3.4%
Return on invested capital – 53.8% 5.6%
Return on capital employed 1.3% 57.3% 5.1%
Asset turnover 4.1x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -19.7x 0.5x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 1.6% 1.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNLSTWDCHPE
Debt / assets 3.8% 5.5% 24.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.1x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -40.8x -0.1x 2.3x
Debt / FCF -0.2x 0.2x 4.9x
Liabilities / assets 68.4% 34.3% 68.2%
Equity / assets 31.6% 65.7% 31.8%
Interest coverage – 48.8x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.4x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.9x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 25.93 21.60 1.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNLSTWDCHPE
Dividend yield – 0.1% 0.9%
Net buyback yield -1.1% 2.0% 0.7%
Shareholder yield -1.1% 2.2% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 2.0% 26.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 4.6% 17.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 151.3% 8.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.1%

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.

ConsensusNLSTWDCHPE
Forward P/E 7.5xFY2026 16.5xFY2027 15.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.92FY2026 $24.04FY2027 $4.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +135.2%FY2027 +107.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.3% +70.9% +19.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $691.20MFY2026 $20.04BFY2027 $49.18BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +266.4%FY2026 +55.1%FY2027 +43.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +26.3% +39.2% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNLSTWDCHPE
Held by institutions 0.0% 93.7% 88.5%
Institutions holding 4 1,846 1,440
Change in shares held, QoQ +146.0% -1.3% -1.5%
Institutions buying 3 1,127 871
Institutions selling 0 597 411
Buyers to sellers – 1.89 2.12

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.

NLSTWDCHPE
NLST 1.00 0.15 0.19
WDC 0.15 1.00 0.33
HPE 0.19 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NLST, WDC and HPE?

Western Digital (WDC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Netlist (NLST) $2.32B, Western Digital (WDC) $148.39B, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $80.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, NLST, WDC and HPE?

Western Digital (WDC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Netlist (NLST) 2,793x, Western Digital (WDC) 14.5x, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 29.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Netlist (NLST) is cheapest (Netlist (NLST) 7.5x, Western Digital (WDC) 16.5x, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 15.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Netlist (NLST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Netlist (NLST) +129.2%, Western Digital (WDC) +43.0%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +26.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Western Digital (WDC) has the highest net margin (Netlist (NLST) 0.2%, Western Digital (WDC) 69.2%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 6.6%). On return on invested capital, Western Digital (WDC) leads (Western Digital (WDC) 53.8%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 5.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Netlist (NLST) returned the most: Netlist (NLST) +951.5%, Western Digital (WDC) +217.3%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +148.9%. Over five years, Western Digital (WDC) compounded fastest (Netlist (NLST) -2.6%/yr, Western Digital (WDC) +58.6%/yr, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) +32.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has the highest dividend yield: Western Digital (WDC) 0.14%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 0.93%. Netlist (NLST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has been the steadiest (Netlist (NLST) 104.8%, Western Digital (WDC) 81.3%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) 58.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NLST, WDC and HPE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Western Digital (WDC) 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.