Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares climbed 22.3% in September 2026, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, driven by booming artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.
The rally began with a blowout earnings report on September 2, setting a confident tone for the rest of the month across AI-focused hardware stocks.
HPE’s fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 34% year over year to $12.2 billion, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $11.93 billion by a meaningful margin.
Earnings of $1.11 per share beat consensus by $0.19, and HPE raised guidance for both fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 following the strong quarterly performance.
The company’s fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $13.9 billion to $14.8 billion came in comfortably ahead of the $13.0 billion analysts had expected at the time.
AI systems orders jumped more than 30% from the previous quarter to $2.4 billion, while the AI systems backlog reached a record high during the period.
Networking orders rose 36% quarter over quarter, including a record $700 million in AI networking orders, underscoring HPE’s growing role in data center buildouts.
HPE also announced an expanded deal to supply routers and switches for a gigawatt-scale Oracle (ORCL) AI cloud build-out, alongside a multibillion-dollar AI inferencing server contract with an unnamed hyperscaler.
The month was not without turbulence, as shares gave back most of their early gains between September 11 and September 14 when AI stocks broadly pulled back.
CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares worth roughly $15 million on September 11, adding further pressure during that brief mid-month retreat.
The stock recovered strongly over the remainder of the month, with HPE and Dell leading S&P 500 gainers as Oracle’s 121% cloud infrastructure growth boosted sentiment toward server and hardware makers.
On September 30, HPE shares rose an additional 8.1%, buoyed by a cooler-than-expected Core PCE inflation reading and stronger-than-anticipated private sector employment gains in the United States.
HPE also raised its Networking segment revenue growth outlook and increased Juniper Networks acquisition cost synergy targets to $800 million, strengthening its long-term financial projections through 2029.
Adding further momentum, Vultr placed a $1.2 billion order for AMD Helios AI Rack systems, reinforcing confidence in HPE’s position within the AI infrastructure supply chain.
Despite the strong run-up, HPE’s valuation remains grounded, with a price-to-sales ratio of about 2 and a price-to-earnings ratio near 32, reflecting growth expectations without an excessive premium.
