Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)
Salesforce pioneered cloud-based customer relationship management and now offers a broad suite of sales, service, marketing, and analytics tools. It is layering AI agents across that suite to automate customer-facing work.
Information Technology stock comparison
CRM vs HPE: which business are you actually underwriting?
Compare Salesforce, Inc. with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company using their business models, SEC classifications, fiscal calendars, current primary filings, and the research questions that matter. This is a thesis framework—not a price target or automatic winner.
- Sector
- Information
- Industry
- Different SIC
- Shared themes
- 1
- Updated
- 2026-03-02
CRM vs HPE: quick comparison
| Company fact | CRM | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Salesforce, Inc. | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company |
| Exchange | NYSE | NYSE |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California | — |
| Founded | 1999 | — |
| SEC industry | Services-Prepackaged Software | Computer & office Equipment |
| Fiscal year-end | January 31 | October 31 |
| Latest annual filing | 10-K · 2026-03-02 | 10-K · 2025-12-18 |
CRM vs HPE: audited financials
CRM reported about 1.2× the revenue of HPE in the latest audited fiscal year. On profitability, CRM converted a larger share of revenue into net income (18.0% versus 0.2%). Scale and margin are starting facts for the thesis, not the verdict.
| Metric | CRM | HPE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $41.5B | $34.3B |
| Net income | $7.5B | $57M |
| Operating cash flow | $15.0B | $2.9B |
| Diluted EPS | $7.80 | −$0.04 |
| Net margin | 18.0% | 0.2% |
CRM: FY ending 2026-01-31 · HPE: FY ending 2025-10-31. Figures as tagged in each issuer's SEC XBRL filing; fiscal calendars may not align.
How the businesses differ
Why this pair belongs in the comparison set
CRM and HPE have different SEC industry classifications, but both map to the maintained Artificial intelligence research theme inside the Information Technology sector. A shared classification or theme makes the pair useful for a defined research question; it does not mean the companies have identical products, economics, or risks.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise sells servers, storage, networking, and hybrid-cloud infrastructure to businesses.
The useful starting point is not which ticker has performed better. It is whether the two companies convert the same economic forces into revenue and cash flow in the same way. CRM is classified by the SEC as Services-Prepackaged Software, while HPE is classified as Computer & office Equipment. The different industry codes are a warning against treating sector membership as proof of identical economics.
Members-only research
What members are reading this month
Sep 22, 2026
Meta jumped 11%. What must happen next to justify the price?A member research report on Meta’s AI rally: Muse, subscription economics, the cash-flow burden, legal costs and the earnings assumptions behind the new price.
Feb 23, 2026
Newmont and the gap between a gold rally and shareholder cashA February 23, 2026 historical cutoff tests whether portfolio simplification and cost control could turn stronger gold economics into cash.
The thesis, the numbers behind it, and what would break it. Full access is $15 a month.
Read the full researchWhich thesis does each company fit?
Use the distinction below to decide which filing deserves deeper work. It is a research routing rule, not a recommendation or prediction.
Study CRM when…
- The AI capital-expenditure cycle
- Interest rates and the cost of long-duration growth
- Enterprise IT budgets and cloud migration
- Export controls and the US–China chip race
Study HPE when…
- The AI capital-expenditure cycle
- Interest rates and the cost of long-duration growth
- Enterprise IT budgets and cloud migration
- Export controls and the US–China chip race
Shared research themes
Artificial intelligence
SEC filing comparison and disclosure evidence
Start with primary filings because fiscal calendars and accounting presentation can make superficially similar quarters incomparable.CRM's fiscal year ends January 31, while HPE's ends October 31. Normalize the reporting periods before comparing growth, margins, capital intensity, or guidance.
The current verified House and Senate snapshot contains 48matched transaction rows for CRMand 8 for HPE. These delayed, range-based disclosures can identify a filing to inspect; they do not establish motive, conviction, or a real-time trading signal.
CRM primary filings
HPE primary filings
What this comparison cannot tell you
This page does not contain licensed live prices, a valuation model, earnings estimates, portfolio constraints, or a forecast of future returns. SEC classifications can be broad, company descriptions can lag strategic change, and the latest annual filing may predate a material acquisition or divestiture. Read subsequent quarterly and current reports before making a decision.
A stronger business is not automatically the better stock. Starting valuation, expectations, capital structure, cyclicality, dilution, and the probability of each thesis determine the investment outcome. Use this comparison to frame the work, then verify the numbers in the linked filings and current company disclosures.
CRM vs HPE FAQs
Are CRM and HPE direct competitors?
Salesforce, Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company sit in the same Information Technology sector but have different SEC industry classifications. The comparison is most useful for portfolio role and sector exposure, not as a claim that every product competes directly.
Which is better, CRM or HPE?
There is no context-free winner. Compare the operating exposures, filing evidence, valuation, balance sheet, and risks against the specific thesis you are testing. This page deliberately does not turn a static profile into a buy or sell recommendation.
Does this CRM vs HPE comparison include live prices?
No. Yield Theory does not republish unlicensed real-time market data. The financial figures on this page are the audited annual numbers Salesforce, Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company tagged in their SEC XBRL filings. Use a regulated broker or licensed quote provider for current prices and valuation multiples.
Where does the company information come from?
Company classifications, fiscal year-ends, and filing links come from the SEC EDGAR submissions API snapshot refreshed 2026-09-25. Business summaries and research themes are maintained by Yield Theory.
Data snapshot: SEC EDGAR submissions API, refreshed 2026-09-25. Independent educational research; not investment advice.
A comparison is the setup. The thesis is the call.
CRM vs HPE shows how the businesses differ. Membership is the monthly sourced view of who could benefit, what could break, and what evidence matters next. $15/month or $150/year.
Members-only research
$15/mo or $150/yr · cancel future renewals anytime · sources included