The latest quarterly figures from Salesforce and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) paint a mixed picture. Salesforce disappointed investors with its outlook. HPE posted record revenue, partly thanks to the acquisition of Juniper Networks.
Salesforce performed better than expected in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. However, the outlook for the current quarter was disappointing. The cloud software company reported revenue of $10.24 billion, which was above analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion.
For the third quarter, Salesforce expects revenue between $10.24 billion and $10.29 billion, with the midpoint below consensus. Adjusted earnings per share are estimated between $2.84 and $2.86, in line with expectations.
Investors reacted with disappointment because the growth of AI platforms, including Agentforce, is lagging behind high expectations. The stock lost more than 5 percent in after-hours trading.
HPE benefits from Juniper acquisition
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) posted record revenue of $9.1 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, up 19 percent from a year earlier. Annual recurring revenue from HPE GreenLake and related services grew 77 percent to $3.1 billion.
The results partly reflect the recent acquisition of Juniper Networks, which has been included in the figures since the beginning of July. CEO Antonio Neri spoke of an important milestone and emphasized that demand was broad-based, with strong performance in servers and networking. CFO Marie Myers added that the Juniper deal is already contributing positively and that further synergy benefits are expected.
By segment, server revenues rose 16 percent to $4.9 billion, while networking generated $1.7 billion, up 54 percent from a year earlier. Hybrid Cloud grew 12 percent to $1.5 billion. The financial services segment remained stable with revenues of $886 million.
GAAP earnings per share fell to $0.21, while adjusted earnings came in at $0.44. Operating cash flow was $1.3 billion and free cash flow was $790 million.
For the fourth quarter, HPE expects revenue between $9.7 billion and $10.1 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.56 to $0.60. For the full year 2025, the company forecasts revenue growth of 14 to 16 percent and free cash flow of approximately $700 million.