Compare · Networking equipment
Cisco vs HPE
Cisco vs HPE: which one is bigger, grows faster and keeps more of each dollar of revenue?
Cisco earns 1.8× HPE’s revenue
Method and sources
- Revenue growth (1 year): Cisco 11.8% (FY2026), HPE 13.8% (FY2025)
- Revenue growth (3-year CAGR): Cisco 3.6% (FY2026), HPE 6.4% (FY2025)
- Operating margin: Cisco 24.3% (FY2026), HPE −1.3% (FY2025)
- Net margin: Cisco 21.0% (FY2026), HPE 0.2% (FY2025)
- FCF margin: Cisco 20.2% (FY2026), HPE 1.8% (FY2025)
Latest fiscal year per company: Cisco FY2026, HPE FY2025. Fiscal years end on different dates, so years are not calendar-aligned.
Both report in USD. Amounts are as filed, not converted.
Why this pair: same peer group, revenue within 4x in the same currency. Peer groups are curated by hand from each company's business as described in its own 10-K/20-F (what it sells, not its SIC code). A company can sit in more than one group. Within a group, a pair is listed when both companies report in the same currency and the larger company's latest fiscal-year revenue is at most 4x the smaller one's; each company keeps its 4 nearest peers by revenue ratio. Companies reporting in different currencies are never size-matched (amounts are not converted); a short list of obvious same-industry pairs across currencies is added by hand, with the reason, as are two direct competitor pairs outside the size rule (AMD vs NVIDIA, Intel vs NVIDIA).
Derived = calculated by Hollsteen from reported SEC values; reported = as tagged in the filing. SEC filings only, no market data.
Side by side: all values with filing links
| Metric | Cisco FY2026 | HPE FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $63.3B10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | $34.3B10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Revenue growth (1 year) | 11.8% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 13.8% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) | 3.6% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 6.4% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Gross margin | 64.5% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | n/a |
| Operating margin | 24.3% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | −1.3% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Net margin | 21.0% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 0.2% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Free cash flow | $12.8B derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | $627M derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| FCF margin | 20.2% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 1.8% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| R&D as % of revenue | 15.1% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 7.3% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
| Stock-based compensation as % of revenue | 6.0% derived10-K · Sep 2, 2026 | 1.9% derived10-K · Dec 18, 2025 |
Definitions: Revenue = Total revenue; Revenue growth (1 year) = Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−1 − 1; Revenue growth (3-year CAGR) = (Revenue FYt ÷ revenue FYt−3)^(1/3) − 1; Gross margin = Gross profit ÷ revenue; Operating margin = Operating income ÷ revenue; Net margin = Net income ÷ revenue; Free cash flow = Operating cash flow − capital expenditures (one formula for all companies); FCF margin = Free cash flow ÷ revenue; R&D as % of revenue = Research and development expense ÷ revenue; Stock-based compensation as % of revenue = Stock-based compensation ÷ revenue.
More on each company
Cisco
HPE
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