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HPE and Dell both sell enterprise infrastructure, including systems used for AI workloads, but they are not the same kind of business. Dell reports infrastructure alongside client devices; HPE’s FY26 reporting groups server, hybrid-cloud and financial-services activities in Cloud & AI, alongside Networking. Their recent growth figures also cover different fiscal periods, so they do not establish which company—or stock—is better.
How HPE and Dell make money
The companies overlap in enterprise infrastructure, but their segment definitions and exposures differ. Dell reports two reportable segments, while HPE’s FY26 structure has three. Comparing segment revenue therefore requires attention to what each label includes.
HPE: Networking and Cloud & AI
HPE’s FY26 reporting structure consists of Networking, Cloud & AI, and Corporate Investments and Other. Cloud & AI reflects a realignment that merged the former Server, Hybrid Cloud, and Financial Services businesses. Telco and Instant On moved from Networking to Corporate Investments and Other, which also includes advisory and professional services and Hewlett Packard Labs. HPE’s FY26 third-quarter filing describes the current structure.
For a historical baseline, HPE reported FY25 consolidated revenue of $34.296 billion. Under the FY25 structure, revenue was $17.745 billion from Server, $5.754 billion from Hybrid Cloud, $6.850 billion from Networking, and $3.504 billion from Financial Services, according to its FY2025 Form 10-K. These are old-category figures; Server, Hybrid Cloud, and Financial Services were subsequently combined in Cloud & AI, so they should not be treated as current FY26 segment totals.
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Dell: infrastructure and client solutions
Dell reports Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). ISG includes AI-optimized servers, traditional servers and networking, and storage; CSG is its client-device business. Dell says its AI-optimized servers serve compute-intensive uses such as AI model training, fine-tuning, and inferencing. The descriptions and fiscal-year figures appear in Dell’s FY2026 Form 10-K.
This makes Dell’s reported results more visibly inclusive of client-device exposure than HPE’s current segment presentation. It does not mean Dell lacks an enterprise-infrastructure business, or that HPE’s Cloud & AI is a direct one-to-one match for Dell ISG: the categories cover different activities.
Rank #2
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What the latest reported results show
The latest periods cited here are not synchronized: HPE’s latest quarter is the three months ended July 31, 2026, while Dell’s latest full-year filing covers the fiscal year ended January 30, 2026. Use the figures as company-reported evidence for their stated periods, not as a like-for-like same-period contest.
HPE’s quarter ended July 31, 2026
HPE reported total segment revenue of $12.213 billion for the quarter. Cloud & AI revenue was $9.042 billion, up 25.4% year over year, and Networking revenue was $2.893 billion, up 74.9%, according to its FY26 Q3 results. HPE also reported Cloud & AI server revenue of $6.8 billion, up 35.3% year over year; that server figure is a component of the broader Cloud & AI segment, not an additional segment to add to it.
Rank #3
- HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 1U Rack Server with Rail kit for small business or Enterprise
- Dual (2) Xeon Gold 6130 16-Core 2.10 GHz, 22MB, Up To 3.70 GHz Turbo
- Memory: 256GB (8 x 32GB) DDR4 PC4-25600 3200MHz Unbuffered Memory
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HPE raised its FY26 revenue growth outlook to 34%–37%. That is management guidance, not realized annual growth. HPE notes that it cannot reconcile certain non-GAAP outlook measures to the closest GAAP measures without unreasonable effort because some elements cannot be predicted. Treat the outlook as uncertain, and do not mix adjusted measures with GAAP results.
Dell’s FY26
Dell’s fiscal year ended January 30, 2026. Its Form 10-K reports ISG net revenue growth of 40%, driven primarily by AI-optimized servers and, to a lesser extent, traditional servers and networking. AI-optimized server net revenue grew 166%. These growth rates describe different scopes: the first is the ISG segment, the second the AI-optimized server category within Dell’s business.
Rank #4
- HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 2U Rack Server with Rail kit for Enterprise
- Dual (2) Xeon Gold 6130 16-Core 2.10 GHz, 22MB, Up To 3.70 GHz Turbo
- Memory: 256GB (8 x 32GB) DDR4 PC4-25600 3200MHz Unbuffered Memory
- Storage: 7.68TB (4 x 1.92TB) Enterprise 2.5” SATA III 6Gb/s SSDs for Ultra Fast Storage
- Hard drives and memory upgrades included separately, not installed, installation required.
Dell’s investor-relations page reports FY26 revenue of $113.5 billion, up 19%, and adjusted free cash flow of $11.5 billion, up 271%. The latter is a company-published adjusted, non-GAAP measure; it is not interchangeable with GAAP cash flow. See Dell’s FY26 financial performance page.
Growth drivers and risks
AI infrastructure demand
Both companies’ reported results point to demand for AI-related infrastructure, though the figures above cover different periods and categories. Dell says AI demand and customer adoption contributed to a substantial increase in backlog. That supports treating AI systems as a current growth driver, but not assuming that demand or shipment growth will continue at the same rate.
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Timing and execution
Dell cautions in its FY2026 Form 10-K that customer readiness and frequent component updates or transitions make the timing of demand and shipments for AI-optimized servers inherently nonlinear. A backlog increase therefore does not guarantee shipments or revenue will arrive evenly across quarters. Component availability, customer deployment readiness, and product transitions can affect when orders convert into reported sales.
HPE’s raised full-year outlook is likewise guidance rather than an outcome. Its warning about unreconcilable non-GAAP outlook elements is a reminder to distinguish management expectations from completed GAAP performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you tell which stock is better?
Not from these operating figures alone. The cited company materials provide business mix, period-specific growth, HPE guidance, and Dell’s adjusted free-cash-flow figure, but they do not provide a matched-date comparison of share prices, total returns, market capitalizations, or valuation multiples. Without those, a claim that HPE or Dell is cheaper, has outperformed, or is the better investment would not be supported.
A meaningful stock comparison needs market data from the same date and consistently defined valuation measures, alongside an investor’s time horizon and view of business risks. Even then, faster revenue growth by itself does not establish better expected returns: valuation, cash generation, execution, and the durability of demand matter too.
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