Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company posted a steep drop in quarterly revenue but improved earnings.
“HPE drove momentum in annualized revenue run rate and gross margins despite challenges brought by the softening of the networking market and GPU deal timing,” HPE Chief Financial Officer Marie Myers said in an interview.
HPE
HPE,
reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $387 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with net earnings of $501 million, or 38 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were 48 cents a share.
The company’s sales plunged 14% to $6.76 billion from $7.8 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected on average net income of 45 cents a share on revenue of $7.09 billion.
HPE provided second-quarter sales guidance of $6.6 billion to $7 billion, while FactSet analysts are forecasting $7.1 billion.
Shares of HPE have sunk 2% over the past year, while the broader S&P 500 index
SPX
has increased 28%.