Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE -1.73%) rose more than 11% on Friday, following the release of robust fiscal fourth-quarter results. By 2:50 p.m. ET, the provider of business-grade computing solutions' stock had gained 11.8%.
HP Enterprise's Q4 by the numbers
Your average Wall Street analyst firm had expected fourth-quarter earnings of roughly $0.56 per share on revenue in the vicinity of $8.26 billion. HP Enterprise edged out both of these targets. Revenue rose 15% year over year to $8.5 billion in the period ended Oct. 31. Adjusted earnings increased 12% to $0.58 per diluted share.
The company's customers were particularly interested in data center solutions. Server sales jumped 32% year over year while intelligent edge products saw 20% lower revenue.
Greenlake adoption and the Juniper acquisition
Rapid adoption of HP Enterprise's Greenlake cloud computing platform drove the strong data center results and gave the company a richer well of renewable subscription-style revenue. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) rose 48% from the year-ago period to $1.9 billion.
The pending acquisition of high-speed networking equipment maker Juniper Networks also moved forward during the quarter, and has now received most of the required regulatory approvals. Management expects Juniper's products to supply about half of the combined company's operating profits, so a quick closing of the deal would be helpful. The final signatures are expected in early 2025, largely awaiting a final antitrust review by the U.S. Justice Department.
HP Enterprise stock has now gained 52% in a single year after trading sideways for a long period. The company is making its presence known in modern data centers, and the Juniper acquisition should give that effort another shot of adrenaline.
