ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.

         You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-K in evaluating Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its common stock. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. The following risk factors should be read in conjunction with Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" and the Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes in Part II, Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplemental Data" of this Form 10-K.

Risks Related to Our Business

If we are unsuccessful at addressing our business challenges, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected and our ability to invest in and grow our business could be limited.

        We are in the process of addressing many challenges facing our business. One set of challenges relates to dynamic and accelerating market trends, such as the market shift to cloud-related IT infrastructure, software and services, and the growth in software-as-a-service ("SaaS") business models. Certain of our legacy hardware businesses face challenges as customers migrate to cloud-based offerings and reduce their purchases of hardware products. Additionally, our legacy software business derives a large portion of its revenues from upfront license sales, some of which over time can be expected to shift to SaaS. A second set of challenges relates to changes in the competitive landscape. Our major competitors are expanding their product and service offerings with integrated products and solutions; our business-specific competitors are exerting increased competitive pressure in targeted areas and are entering new markets; our emerging competitors are introducing new technologies and business models; and our alliance partners in some businesses are increasingly becoming our competitors in others. A third set of challenges relates to business model changes and our go-to-market execution. For example, we may fail to develop innovative products and services, maintain the manufacturing quality of our products, manage our distribution network or successfully market new products and services, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

        In addition, we are facing a series of significant macroeconomic challenges, including weakness across many geographic regions, particularly in the United States, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, and certain countries in Asia. We may experience delays in the anticipated timing of activities related to our efforts to address these challenges and higher than expected or unanticipated execution costs. In addition, we are vulnerable to increased risks associated with our efforts to address these challenges given our large and diverse portfolio of businesses, the broad range of geographic regions in which we and our customers and partners operate, and the ongoing integration of acquired businesses. If we do not succeed in these efforts, or if these efforts are more costly or time-consuming than expected, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected, which could limit our ability to invest in and grow our business.

We operate in an intensely competitive industry and competitive pressures could harm our business and financial performance.

        We encounter aggressive competition from numerous and varied competitors in all areas of our business, and our competitors have targeted and are expected to continue targeting our key market segments. We compete primarily on the basis of our technology, innovation, performance, price, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, distribution, range of products and services, ease of use of our products, account relationships, customer training, service and support, security, and the availability of our application software and IT infrastructure offerings. If our products, services, support and cost structure do not enable us to compete successfully based on any of those criteria, our results of operations and business prospects could be harmed.

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        We have a large portfolio of products and services and must allocate our financial, personnel and other resources across all of our products and services while competing with companies that have smaller portfolios or specialize in one or more of our product or service lines. As a result, we may invest less in certain areas of our business than our competitors do, and our competitors may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources available to them compared to the resources allocated to our products and services that compete against their products and services. Industry consolidation may also affect competition by creating larger, more homogeneous and potentially stronger competitors in the markets in which we operate. Additionally, our competitors may affect our business by entering into exclusive arrangements with our existing or potential customers or suppliers.

        Companies with whom we have alliances in certain areas may be or become our competitors in other areas. In addition, companies with whom we have alliances also may acquire or form alliances with our competitors, which could reduce their business with us. If we are unable to effectively manage these complicated relationships with alliance partners, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

        We face aggressive price competition and may have to continue lowering the prices of many of our products and services to stay competitive, while simultaneously seeking to maintain or improve our revenue and gross margin. In addition, competitors who have a greater presence in some of the lower-cost markets in which we compete, or who can obtain better pricing, more favorable contractual terms and conditions or more favorable allocations of products and components during periods of limited supply may be able to offer lower prices than we are able to offer. Our cash flows, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by these and other industry-wide pricing pressures.

        Because our business model is based on providing innovative and high-quality products, we may spend a proportionately greater amount of our revenues on research and development than some of our competitors. If we cannot proportionately decrease our cost structure (apart from research and development expenses) on a timely basis in response to competitive price pressures, our gross margin and, therefore, our profitability could be adversely affected. In addition, if our pricing and other facets of our offerings are not sufficiently competitive, or if there is an adverse reaction to our product decisions, we may lose market share in certain areas, which could adversely affect our financial performance and business prospects.

        Even if we are able to maintain or increase market share for a particular product, its financial performance could decline because the product is in a maturing industry or market segment or contains technology that is becoming obsolete. For example, our Storage business unit is experiencing the effects of a market transition towards converged products and solutions, which has led to a decline in demand for our traditional storage products. In addition, the performance of our Business Critical Systems business unit has been affected by the decline in demand for UNIX servers and concerns about the development of new versions of software to support our Itanium-based products. Financial performance could decline due to increased competition from other types of products. For example, the development of cloud-based solutions has reduced demand for some of our existing hardware products.

If we cannot successfully execute our go-to-market strategy and continue to develop, manufacture and market innovative products, services and solutions, our business and financial performance may suffer.

        Our long-term strategy is focused on leveraging our existing portfolio of hardware, software and services as we adapt to a new hybrid model of IT delivery and consumption driven by the growing adoption of cloud computing and increased demand for integrated IT solutions. To successfully execute this strategy, we must continue to pivot toward the delivery of integrated IT solutions and continue to invest and expand in cloud computing, enterprise security, big data, applications and mobility. Any

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failure to successfully execute this strategy, including any failure to invest sufficiently in strategic growth areas, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

        The process of developing new high-technology products, software, services and solutions and enhancing existing hardware and software products, services and solutions is complex, costly and uncertain, and any failure by us to anticipate customers' changing needs and emerging technological trends accurately could significantly harm our market share, results of operations and financial condition. For example, as the transition to an environment characterized by cloud-based computing and software being delivered as a service progresses, we must continue to successfully develop and deploy cloud-based solutions for our customers. We must make long-term investments, develop or obtain and protect appropriate intellectual property, and commit significant research and development and other resources before knowing whether our predictions will accurately reflect customer demand for our products, services and solutions. Any failure to accurately predict technological and business trends, control research and development costs or execute our innovation strategy could harm our business and financial performance. Our research and development initiatives may not be successful in whole or in part, including research and development projects which we have prioritized with respect to funding and/or personnel.

        After we develop a product, we must be able to manufacture appropriate volumes quickly while also managing costs and preserving margins. To accomplish this, we must accurately forecast volumes, mixes of products and configurations that meet customer requirements, and we may not succeed at doing so within a given product's life cycle or at all. Any delay in the development, production or marketing of a new product, service or solution could result in us not being among the first to market, which could further harm our competitive position.

        For example, our success in our software segment is dependent on our ability to address the market shift to SaaS and other go-to-market execution challenges. To be successful in addressing these challenges, we must improve our go-to-market execution with multiple product delivery models, which better address customer needs and achieve broader integration across our overall product portfolio as we work to capitalize on important market opportunities in cloud computing, big data, enterprise security, applications and mobility. Improvements in SaaS delivery, however, do not guarantee that we will achieve increased revenue or profitability. SaaS solutions often have lower margins than other software solutions throughout the subscription period and customers may elect to not renew their subscriptions upon expiration of their agreements with us.

If we cannot continue to produce quality products and services, our reputation, business and financial performance may suffer .

        In the course of conducting our business, we must adequately address quality issues associated with our products, services and solutions, including defects in our engineering, design and manufacturing processes and unsatisfactory performance under service contracts, as well as defects in third-party components included in our products and unsatisfactory performance or even malicious acts by third-party contractors or subcontractors or their employees. In order to address quality issues, we work extensively with our customers and suppliers and engage in product testing to determine the causes of problems and to develop and implement appropriate solutions. However, the products, services and solutions that we offer are complex, and our regular testing and quality control efforts may not be effective in controlling or detecting all quality issues or errors, particularly with respect to faulty components manufactured by third parties. If we are unable to determine the cause, find an appropriate solution or offer a temporary fix (or "patch") to address quality issues with our products, we may delay shipment to customers, which could delay revenue recognition and receipt of customer payments and could adversely affect our revenue, cash flows and profitability. In addition, after products are delivered, quality issues may require us to repair or replace such products. Addressing quality issues can be expensive and may result in additional warranty, repair, replacement and other

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costs, adversely affecting our financial performance. If new or existing customers have difficulty operating our products or are dissatisfied with our services or solutions, our results of operations could be adversely affected, and we could face possible claims if we fail to meet our customers' expectations. In addition, quality issues can impair our relationships with new or existing customers and adversely affect our brand and reputation, which could, in turn, adversely affect our results of operations.

If we fail to manage the distribution of our products and services properly, our business and financial performance could suffer.

        We use a variety of distribution methods to sell our products and services around the world, including third-party resellers and distributors and both direct and indirect sales to enterprise accounts and consumers. Successfully managing the interaction of our direct and indirect channel efforts to reach various potential customer segments for our products and services is a complex process. Moreover, since each distribution method has distinct risks and gross margins, our failure to implement the most advantageous balance in the delivery model for our products and services could adversely affect our revenue and gross margins and therefore our profitability.

        Our financial results could be materially adversely affected due to distribution channel conflicts or if the financial conditions of our channel partners were to weaken. Our results of operations may be adversely affected by any conflicts that might arise between our various distribution channels or the loss or deterioration of any alliance or distribution arrangement. Moreover, some of our wholesale distributors may have insufficient financial resources and may not be able to withstand changes in business conditions, including economic weakness, industry consolidation and market trends. Many of our significant distributors operate on narrow margins and have been negatively affected by business pressures in the past. Considerable trade receivables that are not covered by collateral or credit insurance are outstanding with our distribution channel partners. Revenue from indirect sales could suffer, and we could experience disruptions in distribution, if our distributors' financial conditions, abilities to borrow funds in the credit markets or operations weaken.

        Our inventory management is complex, as we continue to sell a significant mix of products through distributors. We must manage both owned and channel inventory effectively, particularly with respect to sales to distributors, which involves forecasting demand and pricing challenges. Distributors may increase orders during periods of product shortages, cancel orders if their inventory is too high or delay orders in anticipation of new products. Distributors also may adjust their orders in response to the supply of our products and the products of our competitors and seasonal fluctuations in end-user demand. Our reliance upon indirect distribution methods may reduce our visibility into demand and pricing trends and issues, and therefore make forecasting more difficult. If we have excess or obsolete inventory, we may have to reduce our prices and write down inventory. Moreover, our use of indirect distribution channels may limit our willingness or ability to adjust prices quickly and otherwise to respond to pricing changes by competitors. We also may have limited ability to estimate future product rebate redemptions in order to price our products effectively.

Recent global, regional and local economic weakness and uncertainty could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

        Our business and financial performance depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions and the demand for technology hardware, software and services in the markets in which we compete. Recent economic weakness and uncertainty in various markets throughout the world have resulted, and may result in the future, in decreased revenue, gross margin, earnings or growth rates and in increased expenses and difficulty in managing inventory levels. For example, we are continuing to experience macroeconomic weakness across many geographic regions, particularly in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, China and certain other high-growth markets. Ongoing U.S. federal government spending limits may continue to reduce demand for our products, services and solutions from

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organizations that receive funding from the U.S. government, and could negatively affect macroeconomic conditions in the United States, which could further reduce demand for our products, services and solutions. Economic weakness and uncertainty may adversely affect demand for our products, services and solutions, may result in increased expenses due to higher allowances for doubtful accounts and potential goodwill and asset impairment charges, and may make it more difficult for us to make accurate forecasts of revenue, gross margin, cash flows and expenses.

        Economic weakness and uncertainty could cause our expenses to vary materially from our expectations. Any financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets or any significant financial services institution failures could negatively impact our treasury operations, as the financial condition of such parties may deteriorate rapidly and without notice in times of market volatility and disruption. Poor financial performance of asset markets combined with lower interest rates and the adverse effects of fluctuating currency exchange rates could lead to higher pension and post-retirement benefit expenses. Interest and other expenses could vary materially from expectations depending on changes in interest rates, borrowing costs, currency exchange rates, costs of hedging activities and the fair value of derivative instruments. Economic downturns also may lead to restructuring actions and associated expenses.

Due to the international nature of our business, political or economic changes or other factors could harm our business and financial performance.

        Sales outside the United States constituted approximately 61% of our net revenue in fiscal 2015. Our future business and financial performance could suffer due to a variety of international factors, including:

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ongoing instability or changes in a country's or region's economic or political conditions, including inflation, recession, interest rate fluctuations and actual or anticipated military or political conflicts;



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longer collection cycles and financial instability among customers;



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trade regulations and procedures and actions affecting production, pricing and marketing of products, including policies adopted by countries that may champion or otherwise favor domestic companies and technologies over foreign competitors;



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local labor conditions and regulations, including local labor issues faced by specific suppliers and original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs");



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managing our geographically dispersed workforce;



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changes in the international, national or local regulatory and legal environments;



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differing technology standards or customer requirements;



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import, export or other business licensing requirements or requirements relating to making foreign direct investments, which could increase our cost of doing business in certain jurisdictions, prevent us from shipping products to particular countries or markets, affect our ability to obtain favorable terms for components, increase our operating costs or lead to penalties or restrictions;



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difficulties associated with repatriating earnings generated or held abroad in a tax-efficient manner, and changes in tax laws; and



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fluctuations in freight costs, limitations on shipping and receiving capacity, and other disruptions in the transportation and shipping infrastructure at important geographic points of exit and entry for our products and shipments.

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        The factors described above also could disrupt our product and component manufacturing and key suppliers located outside of the United States. For example, we rely on suppliers in Asia for product assembly and manufacture.

        In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, there are companies that engage in business practices prohibited by laws and regulations applicable to us, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the "FCPA"). Although we implement policies, procedures and training designed to facilitate compliance with these laws, our employees, contractors and agents, as well as those of the companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, may take actions in violation of our policies. Any such violation, even if prohibited by our policies, could have an adverse effect on our business and reputation.

We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

        Currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including the euro, the British pound, Chinese yuan (renminbi) and the Japanese yen, can have an impact on our results as expressed in U.S. dollars. In particular, the economic uncertainties relating to European sovereign and other debt obligations and the related European financial restructuring efforts may cause the value of the euro to fluctuate. Currency volatility also contributes to variations in our sales of products and services in impacted jurisdictions. For example, in the event that one or more European countries were to replace the euro with another currency, our sales into such countries, or into Europe generally, would likely be adversely affected until stable exchange rates are established. Accordingly, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, most notably the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, could adversely affect our revenue growth in future periods. In addition, currency variations can adversely affect margins on sales of our products in countries outside of the United States and margins on sales of products that include components obtained from suppliers located outside of the United States.

        From time to time, we may use forward contracts and options designated as cash flow hedges to protect against foreign currency exchange rate risks. The effectiveness of our hedges depends on our ability to accurately forecast future cash flows, which is particularly difficult during periods of uncertain demand for our products and services and highly volatile exchange rates. We may incur significant losses from our hedging activities due to factors such as demand volatility and currency variations. In addition, certain or all of our hedging activities may be ineffective, may expire and not be renewed or may not offset any or more than a portion of the adverse financial impact resulting from currency variations. Losses associated with hedging activities also may impact our revenue and to a lesser extent our cost of sales and financial condition.

The revenue and profitability of our operations have historically varied, which makes our future financial results less predictable.

        Our revenue, gross margin and profit vary among our diverse products and services, customer groups and geographic markets and therefore will likely be different in future periods than our historical results as a consolidated subsidiary of HP Co. Our revenue depends on the overall demand for our products and services. Delays or reductions in IT spending by our customers or potential customers could have a material adverse effect on demand for our products and services, which could result in a significant decline in revenue. In addition, revenue declines in some of our businesses, particularly our services businesses, may affect revenue in our other businesses as we may lose cross-selling opportunities. Overall gross margins and profitability in any given period are dependent partially on the product, service, customer and geographic mix reflected in that period's net revenue. Competition, lawsuits, investigations, increases in component and manufacturing costs that we are unable to pass on to our customers, component supply disruptions and other risks affecting those businesses therefore may have a significant impact on our overall gross margin and profitability. Certain segments have a higher fixed cost structure and more variation in gross margins across their business

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units and product portfolios than others and may therefore experience significant operating profit volatility on a quarterly or annual basis. In addition, newer geographic markets may be relatively less profitable due to our investments associated with entering those markets and local pricing pressures, and we may have difficulty establishing and maintaining the operating infrastructure necessary to support the high growth rate associated with some of those markets. Market trends, industry shifts, competitive pressures, commoditization of products, increased component or shipping costs, regulatory impacts and other factors may result in reductions in revenue or pressure on gross margins of certain segments in a given period, which may lead to adjustments to our operations. Moreover, our efforts to address the challenges facing our business could increase the level of variability in our financial results because the rate at which we are able to realize the benefits from those efforts may vary from period to period. See also the risk factor below entitled "We have no history of operating as an independent company and we expect to incur increased administrative and other costs following the separation by virtue of our status as an independent public company. Our historical financial information is not necessarily representative of the results that we would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of our future results."

We depend on third-party suppliers, and our financial results could suffer if we fail to manage our suppliers properly.

        Our operations depend on our ability to anticipate our needs for components, products and services, as well as our suppliers' ability to deliver sufficient quantities of quality components, products and services at reasonable prices and in time for us to meet critical schedules for the delivery of our own products and services. Given the wide variety of systems, products and services that we offer, the large number of our suppliers and contract manufacturers that are located around the world, and the long lead times required to manufacture, assemble and deliver certain components and products, problems could arise in production, planning and inventory management that could seriously harm our business. In addition, our ongoing efforts to optimize the efficiency of our supply chain could cause supply disruptions and be more expensive, time-consuming and resource-intensive than expected. Furthermore, certain of our suppliers may decide to discontinue conducting business with us. Other supplier problems that we could face include component shortages, excess supply, risks related to the terms of our contracts with suppliers, risks associated with contingent workers, and risks related to our relationships with single-source suppliers, each of which is described below.

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Component shortages.   We may experience a shortage of, or a delay in receiving, certain components as a result of strong demand, capacity constraints, supplier financial weaknesses, the inability of suppliers to borrow funds in the credit markets, disputes with suppliers (some of whom are also our customers), disruptions in the operations of component suppliers, other problems experienced by suppliers or problems faced during the transition to new suppliers. If shortages or delays persist, the price of certain components may increase, we may be exposed to quality issues, or the components may not be available at all. We may not be able to secure enough components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build products or provide services in a timely manner in the quantities needed or according to our specifications. Accordingly, our business and financial performance could suffer if we lose time-sensitive sales, incur additional freight costs or are unable to pass on price increases to our customers. If we cannot adequately address supply issues, we might have to reengineer some product or service offerings, which could result in further costs and delays.



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Excess supply.   In order to secure components for our products or services, at times we may make advance payments to suppliers or enter into non-cancelable commitments with vendors. In addition, we may purchase components strategically in advance of demand to take advantage of favorable pricing or to address concerns about the availability of future components. If we fail to

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anticipate customer demand properly, a temporary oversupply could result in excess or obsolete components, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

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Contractual terms.   As a result of binding long-term price or purchase commitments with vendors, we may be obligated to purchase components or services at prices that are higher than those available in the current market and be limited in our ability to respond to changing market conditions. If we commit to purchasing components or services for prices in excess of the then-current market price, we may be at a disadvantage to competitors who have access to components or services at lower prices, our gross margin could suffer, and we could incur additional charges relating to inventory obsolescence. Any of these developments could adversely affect our future results of operations and financial condition.



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Contingent workers.   We also rely on third-party suppliers for the provision of contingent workers, and our failure to manage our use of such workers effectively could adversely affect our results of operations. We have been exposed to various legal claims relating to the status of contingent workers in the past and could face similar claims in the future. We may be subject to shortages, oversupply or fixed contractual terms relating to contingent workers. Our ability to manage the size of, and costs associated with, the contingent workforce may be subject to additional constraints imposed by local laws.



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Single-source suppliers.   We obtain a significant number of components from single sources due to technology, availability, price, quality or other considerations. New products that we introduce may utilize custom components obtained from only one source initially until we have evaluated whether there is a need for additional suppliers. Replacing a single-source supplier could delay production of some products as replacement suppliers may be subject to capacity constraints or other output limitations. For some components, such as customized components, alternative sources either may not exist or may be unable to produce the quantities of those components necessary to satisfy our production requirements. In addition, we sometimes purchase components from single-source suppliers under short-term agreements that contain favorable pricing and other terms but that may be unilaterally modified or terminated by the supplier with limited notice and with little or no penalty. The performance of such single-source suppliers under those agreements (and the renewal or extension of those agreements upon similar terms) may affect the quality, quantity and price of our components. The loss of a single-source supplier, the deterioration of our relationship with a single-source supplier or any unilateral modification to the contractual terms under which we are supplied components by a single-source supplier could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

        Our worldwide operations could be disrupted by earthquakes, telecommunications failures, power or water shortages, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics and other natural or manmade disasters or catastrophic events, for which we are predominantly self-insured. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could result in significant losses, seriously harm our revenue, profitability and financial condition, adversely affect our competitive position, increase our costs and expenses, and require substantial expenditures and recovery time in order to fully resume operations. Our corporate headquarters and a portion of our research and development activities are located in California, and other critical business operations and some of our suppliers are located in California and Asia, near major earthquake faults known for seismic activity. In addition, our principal worldwide IT data centers are located in the southern United States, making our operations more vulnerable to natural disasters or other business disruptions occurring in that geographical area. The manufacture of product components, the final assembly of our products and other critical operations are concentrated in certain geographic locations, including the Czech

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Republic, Mexico, China and Singapore. We also rely on major logistics hubs, primarily in Asia to manufacture and distribute our products, and primarily in the southwestern United States to import products into the Americas region. Our operations could be adversely affected if manufacturing, logistics or other operations in these locations are disrupted for any reason, including natural disasters, IT system failures, military actions or economic, business, labor, environmental, public health, regulatory or political issues. The ultimate impact on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure of being located near locations more vulnerable to the occurrence of the aforementioned business disruptions, such as near major earthquake faults, and being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown and remains uncertain.

Our uneven sales cycle makes planning and inventory management difficult and future financial results less predictable.

        In some of our segments, our quarterly sales often have reflected a pattern in which a disproportionate percentage of each quarter's total sales occurs towards the end of the quarter. This uneven sales pattern makes predicting revenue, earnings, cash flow from operations and working capital for each financial period difficult, increases the risk of unanticipated variations in our quarterly results and financial condition and places pressure on our inventory management and logistics systems. If predicted demand is substantially greater than orders, there may be excess inventory. Alternatively, if orders substantially exceed predicted demand, we may not be able to fulfill all of the orders received in each quarter and such orders may be cancelled. Depending on when they occur in a quarter, developments such as a systems failure, component pricing movements, component shortages or global logistics disruptions, could adversely impact our inventory levels and results of operations in a manner that is disproportionate to the number of days in the quarter affected.

        We experience some seasonal trends in the sale of our products that also may produce variations in our quarterly results and financial condition. For example, sales to governments (particularly sales to the U.S. government) are often stronger in the third calendar quarter, and many customers whose fiscal year is the calendar year spend their remaining capital budget authorizations in the fourth calendar quarter prior to new budget constraints in the first calendar quarter of the following year. European sales are often weaker during the summer months. Typically, our third fiscal quarter is our weakest and our fourth fiscal quarter is our strongest. Many of the factors that create and affect seasonal trends are beyond our control.

Any failure by us to identify, manage and complete acquisitions, divestitures and other significant transactions successfully could harm our financial results, business and prospects.

        As part of our business strategy, we may acquire companies or businesses, divest businesses or assets, enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures and make investments to further our business (collectively, "business combination and investment transactions"). For example, in May 2015, we acquired Aruba Networks, Inc., which provides next-generation network access solutions for mobile enterprise. Also in May 2015, we announced a partnership with Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd. ("Tsinghua"), the asset management arm of Tsinghua University in China, pursuant to which we will sell to Tsinghua a 51% interest in our wholly owned subsidiary that owns and operates H3C Technologies and our China-based server, storage and technology services businesses for approximately $2.3 billion, subject to the terms and conditions of the share purchase agreement among Tsinghua, Tsinghua's subsidiary Unispendour Corporation and our subsidiary H3C Holdings Limited. The transaction with Tsinghua is expected to close during the first quarter of fiscal 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

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        Risks associated with business combination and investment transactions include the following, any of which could adversely affect our revenue, gross margin, profitability and financial results:

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Managing business combination and investment transactions requires varying levels of management resources, which may divert our attention from other business operations.



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We may not fully realize all of the anticipated benefits of any particular business combination and investment transaction, and the timeframe for realizing the benefits of a particular business combination and investment transaction may depend partially upon the actions of employees, advisors, suppliers, other third parties or market trends.



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Certain previous business combination and investment transactions have resulted, and in the future any such transactions by us may result, in significant costs and expenses, including those related to severance pay, early retirement costs, employee benefit costs, charges from the elimination of duplicative facilities and contracts, inventory adjustments, assumed litigation and other liabilities, legal, accounting and financial advisory fees, and required payments to executive officers and key employees under retention plans.



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Any increased or unexpected costs, unanticipated delays or failure to meet contractual obligations could make business combination and investment transactions less profitable or unprofitable.



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Our ability to conduct due diligence with respect to business combination and investment transactions, and our ability to evaluate the results of such due diligence, is dependent upon the veracity and completeness of statements and disclosures made or actions taken by third parties or their representatives.



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Our due diligence process may fail to identify significant issues with the acquired company's product quality, financial disclosures, accounting practices or internal control deficiencies.



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The pricing and other terms of our contracts for business combination and investment transactions require us to make estimates and assumptions at the time we enter into these contracts, and, during the course of our due diligence, we may not identify all of the factors necessary to estimate accurately our costs, timing and other matters or we may incur costs if a business combination is not consummated.



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In order to complete a business combination and investment transaction, we may issue common stock, potentially creating dilution for our existing stockholders.



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We may borrow to finance business combination and investment transactions, and the amount and terms of any potential future acquisition-related or other borrowings, as well as other factors, could affect our liquidity and financial condition.



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Our effective tax rate on an ongoing basis is uncertain, and business combination and investment transactions could adversely impact our effective tax rate.



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An announced business combination and investment transaction may not close on the expected timeframe or at all, which may cause our financial results to differ from expectations in a given quarter.



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Business combination and investment transactions may lead to litigation, which could impact our financial condition and results of operations.



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If we fail to identify and successfully complete and integrate business combination and investment transactions that further our strategic objectives, we may be required to expend resources to develop products, services and technology internally, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage.

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        We have incurred and will incur additional depreciation and amortization expense over the useful lives of certain assets acquired in connection with business combination and investment transactions and, to the extent that the value of goodwill or intangible assets acquired in connection with a business combination and investment transaction becomes impaired, we may be required to incur additional material charges relating to the impairment of those assets. For example, for fiscal 2012, we recorded an $8.0 billion impairment charge relating to the goodwill associated with our enterprise services reporting unit within our Enterprise Services segment. In addition, for fiscal 2012, we recorded an $8.8 billion impairment charge relating to the goodwill and intangible assets associated with Autonomy. If there are future sustained decreases in our stock price or significant changes in the business climate or results of operations of our reporting units, we may incur additional charges, which may include goodwill impairment or intangible asset charges.

        As part of our business strategy, we regularly evaluate the potential disposition of assets and businesses that may no longer help us meet our objectives. When we decide to sell assets or a business, we may encounter difficulty in finding buyers or alternative exit strategies on acceptable terms in a timely manner, which could delay the achievement of our strategic objectives. We may also dispose of a business at a price or on terms that are less desirable than we had anticipated. In addition, we may experience greater dis-synergies than expected, and the impact of the divestiture on our revenue growth may be larger than projected. After reaching an agreement with a buyer or seller for the acquisition or disposition of a business, we are subject to satisfaction of pre-closing conditions as well as to necessary regulatory and governmental approvals on acceptable terms, which, if not satisfied or obtained, may prevent us from completing the transaction. Dispositions may also involve continued financial involvement in the divested business, such as through continuing equity ownership, guarantees, indemnities or other financial obligations. Under these arrangements, performance by the divested businesses or other conditions outside of our control could affect our future financial results.

Integrating acquisitions may be difficult and time-consuming. Any failure by us to integrate acquired companies, products or services into our overall business in a timely manner could harm our financial results, business and prospects.

        In order to pursue our strategy successfully, we must identify candidates for and successfully complete business combination and investment transactions, some of which may be large or complex, and manage post-closing issues such as the integration of acquired businesses, products, services or employees. Integration issues are often time-consuming and expensive and, without proper planning and implementation, could significantly disrupt our business and the acquired business. The challenges involved in integration include:

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successfully combining product and service offerings, including under the single new Hewlett Packard Enterprise brand, and entering or expanding into markets in which we are not experienced or are developing expertise;



•

convincing customers and distributors that the transaction will not diminish customer service standards or business focus;



•

persuading customers and distributors to not defer purchasing decisions or switch to other suppliers (which could result in our incurring additional obligations in order to address customer uncertainty), minimizing sales force attrition and expanding and coordinating sales, marketing and distribution efforts;



•

consolidating and rationalizing corporate IT infrastructure, which may include multiple legacy systems from various acquisitions and integrating software code and business processes;



•

minimizing the diversion of management attention from ongoing business concerns;

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•

persuading employees that business cultures are compatible, maintaining employee morale and retaining key employees, engaging with employee works councils representing an acquired company's non-U.S. employees, integrating employees, correctly estimating employee benefit costs and implementing restructuring programs;



•

coordinating and combining administrative, manufacturing, research and development and other operations, subsidiaries, facilities and relationships with third parties in accordance with local laws and other obligations while maintaining adequate standards, controls and procedures;



•

achieving savings from supply chain integration; and



•

managing integration issues shortly after or pending the completion of other independent transactions.

We may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of our restructuring plans and our restructuring may adversely affect our business.

        We have announced restructuring plans, including the 2012 Plan and the 2015 Plan (each as defined below), in order to realign our cost structure due to the changing nature of our business and to achieve operating efficiencies that we expect to reduce costs. We may not be able to obtain the cost savings and benefits that were initially anticipated in connection with our restructuring. Additionally, as a result of our restructuring, we may experience a loss of continuity, loss of accumulated knowledge and/or inefficiency during transitional periods. Reorganization and restructuring can require a significant amount of management and other employees' time and focus, which may divert attention from operating and growing our business. If we fail to achieve some or all of the expected benefits of restructuring, it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. For more information about our restructuring plans, including details regarding the 2012 Plan and the 2015 Plan, see Note 3, "Restructuring", to the Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our financial performance may suffer if we cannot continue to develop, license or enforce the intellectual property rights on which our businesses depend.

        We rely upon patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property laws in the United States, similar laws in other countries, and agreements with our employees, customers, suppliers and other parties, to establish and maintain intellectual property rights in the products and services we sell, provide or otherwise use in our operations. However, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, infringed or circumvented, or such intellectual property rights may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or to otherwise provide competitive advantages, either of which could result in costly product redesign efforts, discontinuance of certain product offerings or other harm to our competitive position. Further, the laws of certain countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Therefore, in certain jurisdictions we may be unable to protect our proprietary technology adequately against unauthorized third-party copying or use; this, too, could adversely affect our ability to sell products or services and our competitive position.

Our products and services depend in part on intellectual property and technology licensed from third parties.

        Much of our business and many of our products rely on key technologies developed or licensed by third parties. For example, many of our software offerings are developed using software components or other intellectual property licensed from third parties, including through both proprietary and open source licenses. These third-party software components may become obsolete, defective or incompatible with future versions of our products, or our relationship with the third party may deteriorate, or our agreements with the third party may expire or be terminated. We may face legal or business disputes

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with licensors that may threaten or lead to the disruption of inbound licensing relationships. In order to remain in compliance with the terms of our licenses, we must carefully monitor and manage our use of third-party software components, including both proprietary and open source license terms that may require the licensing or public disclosure of our intellectual property without compensation or on undesirable terms. Additionally, some of these licenses may not be available to us in the future on terms that are acceptable or that allow our product offerings to remain competitive. Our inability to obtain licenses or rights on favorable terms could have a material effect on our business, including our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, it is possible that as a consequence of a merger or acquisition, third parties may obtain licenses to some of our intellectual property rights or our business may be subject to certain restrictions that were not in place prior to such transaction. Because the availability and cost of licenses from third parties depends upon the willingness of third parties to deal with us on the terms we request, there is a risk that third parties who license to our competitors will either refuse to license us at all, or refuse to license us on terms equally favorable to those granted to our competitors. Consequently, we may lose a competitive advantage with respect to these intellectual property rights or we may be required to enter into costly arrangements in order to terminate or limit these rights.

Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, including patent infringement, are commonplace in the IT industry and successful third-party claims may limit or disrupt our ability to sell our products and services.

        Third parties also may claim that we or customers indemnified by us are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. For example, patent assertion entities may purchase intellectual property assets for the purpose of asserting claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its customers. If we cannot or do not license allegedly infringed intellectual property at all or on reasonable terms, or if we are required to substitute similar technology from another source, our operations could be adversely affected. Even if we believe that intellectual property claims are without merit, they can be time-consuming and costly to defend against and may divert management's attention and resources away from our business. Claims of intellectual property infringement also might require us to redesign affected products, enter into costly settlement or license agreements, pay costly damage awards or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from importing, marketing or selling certain of our products. Even if we have an agreement to indemnify us against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable or unwilling to uphold its contractual obligations to us.

The allocation of intellectual property rights that was made between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. as part of the separation of the two entities, and the shared use of certain intellectual property rights following the separation, could in the future adversely impact our reputation, our ability to enforce certain intellectual property rights that are important to us and our competitive position.

        In connection with the separation, HP Co. allocated to each of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. the intellectual property assets relevant to their respective businesses. The terms of the separation include cross-licenses and other arrangements to provide for certain ongoing use of intellectual property in the existing operations of both businesses. For example, through a joint brand holding structure, both Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. retain the ability to make ongoing use of certain variations of the legacy Hewlett-Packard and HP branding, respectively. As a result of this continuing shared use of the legacy branding there is a risk that conduct or events adversely affecting the reputation of HP Inc. could also adversely affect the reputation of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In addition, as a result of the allocation of intellectual property as part of the separation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise no longer has ownership of intellectual property allocated to HP Inc. and our resulting intellectual property ownership position could adversely affect our position and options relating to

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patent enforcement and patent licensing, our ability to sell our products or services and our competitive position in the industry.

Our business and financial performance could suffer if we do not manage the risks associated with our Enterprise Services business properly.

        The success of our ES segment is to a significant degree dependent on our ability to retain our significant services clients and maintain or increase the level of revenues from these clients. We may lose clients due to their merger or acquisition, business failure, contract expiration or their selection of a competing service provider or decision to in-source services. In addition, we may not be able to retain or renew relationships with our significant clients. As a result of business downturns or for other business reasons, we are also vulnerable to reduced processing volumes from our clients, which can reduce the scope of services provided and the prices for those services. We may not be able to replace the revenue and earnings from any such lost clients or reductions in services. In addition, our contracts may allow a client to terminate the contract for convenience, and we may not be able to fully recover our investments in such circumstances.

        The pricing and other terms of some of our IT service agreements, particularly our long-term IT outsourcing services agreements, require us to make estimates and assumptions at the time we enter into these contracts that could differ from actual results. Any increased or unexpected costs or unanticipated delays in connection with the performance of these engagements, including delays caused by factors outside our control, could make these agreements less profitable or unprofitable, which could have an adverse effect on the profit margin of our IT services business.

        Some of our IT service agreements require significant investment in the early stages that is expected to be recovered through billings over the life of the agreement. These agreements often involve the construction of new IT systems and communications networks and the development and deployment of new technologies. Substantial performance risk exists in each agreement with these characteristics, and some or all elements of service delivery under these agreements are dependent upon successful completion of the development, construction and deployment phases. Any failure to perform satisfactorily under these agreements may expose us to legal liability, result in the loss of customers and harm our reputation, which could harm the financial performance of our IT services business.

        Some of our IT outsourcing services agreements contain pricing provisions that permit a client to request a benchmark study by a mutually acceptable third party. The benchmarking process typically compares the contractual price of our services against the price of similar services offered by other specified providers in a peer comparison group, subject to agreed-upon adjustment and normalization factors. Generally, if the benchmarking study shows that our pricing differs from our peer group outside a specified range, and the difference is not due to the unique requirements of the client, then the parties will negotiate in good faith appropriate adjustments to the pricing. This may result in the reduction of our rates for the benchmarked services performed after the implementation of those pricing adjustments, which could harm the financial performance of our IT services business.

        If we do not hire, train, motivate and effectively utilize employees with the right mix of skills and experience in the right geographic regions to meet the needs of our services clients, our financial performance could suffer. For example, if our employee utilization rate is too low, our profitability and the level of engagement of our employees could suffer. If that utilization rate is too high, it could have an adverse effect on employee engagement and attrition and the quality of the work performed, as well as our ability to staff projects. If we are unable to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees with the skills or backgrounds to meet current demand, we might need to redeploy existing personnel, increase our reliance on subcontractors or increase employee compensation levels, all of which could also negatively affect our profitability. In addition, if we have more employees than we need with

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certain skill sets or in certain geographies, we may incur increased costs as we work to rebalance our supply of skills and resources with client demand in those geographies.

Failure to comply with our customer contracts or government contracting regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

        Our contracts with our customers may include unique and specialized performance requirements. In particular, our contracts with federal, state, provincial and local governmental customers are subject to various procurement regulations, contract provisions and other requirements relating to their formation, administration and performance. Any failure by us to comply with the specific provisions in our customer contracts or any violation of government contracting regulations could result in the imposition of various civil and criminal penalties, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments and, in the case of our government contracts, fines and suspension from future government contracting. Such failures could also cause reputational damage to our business. In addition, our former parent has in the past been, and we may in the future be, subject to qui tam litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government relating to our government contracts, which could include claims for treble damages. Further, any negative publicity related to our customer contracts or any proceedings surrounding them, regardless of its accuracy, may damage our business by affecting our ability to compete for new contracts. If our customer contracts are terminated, if we are suspended or disbarred from government work, or if our ability to compete for new contracts is adversely affected, our financial performance could suffer.

We make estimates and assumptions in connection with the preparation of our Combined Financial Statements and any changes to those estimates and assumptions could adversely affect our results of operations.

        In connection with the preparation of our Combined Financial Statements, we use certain estimates and assumptions based on historical experience and other factors. Our most critical accounting estimates are described in the section entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." In addition, as discussed in Note 17, "Litigation and Contingencies", to our Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements, we make certain estimates, including decisions related to provisions for legal proceedings and other contingencies. While we believe that these estimates and assumptions are reasonable under the circumstances, they are subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Should any of these estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could adversely affect our results of operations.

Unanticipated changes in our tax provisions, the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities could affect our financial performance.

        We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our tax liabilities are affected by the amounts we charge in intercompany transactions for inventory, services, licenses, funding and other items. We are subject to ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions. Tax authorities may disagree with our intercompany charges, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing or other matters, and may assess additional taxes as a result. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax provision. However, there can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcomes of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid upon resolution of audits could be materially different from the amounts previously included in our income tax expense and therefore could have a material impact on our tax provision, net income and cash flows. In addition, our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes to our operating structure, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in tax laws and the discovery of new information in the course of our tax return preparation process. In particular, if circumstances

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change such that we are unable to indefinitely reinvest our foreign earnings outside the United States, future income tax expense and payments may differ significantly from historical amounts and could materially adversely affect our results of operations. As of October 31, 2015, we had $27.6 billion of undistributed earnings from non-U.S. operations indefinitely reinvested outside of the United States. See Note 6, "Taxes on Earnings", to our Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements. The carrying value of our deferred tax assets, which are predominantly in the United States, is dependent on our ability to generate future taxable income in the United States. In addition, there are proposals for tax legislation that have been introduced or that are being considered that could have a significant adverse effect on our tax rate, the carrying value of deferred tax assets, or our deferred tax liabilities. Any of these changes could affect our financial performance.

In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop and transition key employees, and failure to do so could seriously harm us.

        In order to be successful, we must attract, retain, train, motivate, develop and transition qualified executives and other key employees, including those in managerial, technical, development, sales, marketing and IT support positions. Identifying, developing internally or hiring externally, training and retaining qualified executives, engineers, skilled solutions providers in the IT support business and qualified sales representatives are critical to our future, and competition for experienced employees in the IT industry can be intense. In order to attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash- and equity-based compensation. Our equity-based incentive awards may contain conditions relating to our stock price performance and our long-term financial performance that make the future value of those awards uncertain. If the anticipated value of such equity-based incentive awards does not materialize, if our equity-based compensation otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, or if we do not obtain the stockholder approval needed to continue granting equity-based incentive awards in the amounts we believe are necessary, our ability to attract, retain, and motivate executives and key employees could be weakened.

        Our failure to successfully hire executives and key employees or the loss of any executives and key employees could have a significant impact on our operations. Further, changes in our management team may be disruptive to our business, and any failure to successfully transition and assimilate key new hires or promoted employees could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

System security risks, data protection breaches, cyberattacks and systems integration issues could disrupt our internal operations or IT services provided to customers, and any such disruption could reduce our revenue, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.

        Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our products. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we produce or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the system. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, including bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and other security vulnerabilities, could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, manufacturing, distribution or other critical functions.

        We manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data relating to our business. In addition, our outsourcing services business routinely processes, stores and transmits

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large amounts of data for our clients, including sensitive and personally identifiable information. Breaches of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us, our clients or our customers, including the potential loss or disclosure of such information or data as a result of fraud, trickery or other forms of deception, could expose us, our customers or the individuals affected to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, result in litigation and potential liability for us, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business. We also could lose existing or potential customers of outsourcing services or other IT solutions or incur significant expenses in connection with our customers' system failures or any actual or perceived security vulnerabilities in our products and services. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures could be significant.

        Portions of our IT infrastructure also may experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with systems integration or migration work that takes place from time to time. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, which could cause business disruptions and be more expensive, time-consuming, disruptive and resource intensive. Such disruptions could adversely impact our ability to fulfill orders and respond to customer requests and interrupt other processes. Delayed sales, lower margins or lost customers resulting from these disruptions could reduce our revenue, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.

Terrorist acts, conflicts, wars and geopolitical uncertainties may seriously harm our business and revenue, costs and expenses and financial condition and stock price.

        Terrorist acts, conflicts or wars (wherever located around the world) may cause damage or disruption to our business, our employees, facilities, partners, suppliers, distributors, resellers or customers or adversely affect our ability to manage logistics, operate our transportation and communication systems or conduct certain other critical business operations. The potential for future attacks, the national and international responses to attacks or perceived threats to national security, and other actual or potential conflicts or wars have created many economic and political uncertainties. In addition, as a major multinational company with headquarters and significant operations located in the United States, actions against or by the United States may impact our business or employees. Although it is impossible to predict the occurrences or consequences of any such events, if they occur, they could result in a decrease in demand for our products, make it difficult or impossible to provide services or deliver products to our customers or to receive components from our suppliers, create delays and inefficiencies in our supply chain and result in the need to impose employee travel restrictions. We are predominantly uninsured for losses and interruptions caused by terrorist acts, conflicts and wars.

Our business is subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations that could result in costs or other sanctions that adversely affect our business and results of operations.

        We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations. For example, we are subject to laws and regulations concerning environmental protection, including laws addressing the discharge of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the clean-up of contaminated sites, the content of our products and the recycling, treatment and disposal of our products. In particular, we face increasing complexity in our product design and procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the chemical and materials composition of our products, their safe use, the energy consumption associated with those products, climate change laws and regulations and product take-back legislation. If we were to violate or become liable under environmental laws or if our products become non-compliant with environmental laws, we could incur substantial costs or face other sanctions, which may include

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restrictions on our products entering certain jurisdictions. Our potential exposure includes fines and civil or criminal sanctions, third-party property damage, personal injury claims and clean-up costs. Further, liability under some environmental laws relating to contaminated sites can be imposed retroactively, on a joint and several basis, and without any finding of noncompliance or fault. The amount and timing of costs to comply with environmental laws are difficult to predict.

        In addition, our business is subject to laws addressing privacy and information security. In particular, we face an increasingly complex regulatory environment in our big data offerings as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the security of our offerings. If we were to violate or become liable under laws or regulations associated with security, we could incur substantial costs or face other sanctions. Our potential exposure includes fines and civil or criminal sanctions, and third-party claims.

Our stock price has fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate, which may make future prices of our stock difficult to predict.

        Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock price, like that of other technology companies, can be volatile. Some of the factors that could affect our stock price are:

•

speculation, coverage or sentiment in the media or the investment community about, or actual changes in, our business, strategic position, market share, organizational structure, operations, financial condition, financial reporting and results, effectiveness of cost-cutting efforts, value or liquidity of our investments, exposure to market volatility, prospects, business combination or investment transactions, future stock price performance, board of directors, executive team, our competitors or our industry in general;



•

the announcement of new, planned or contemplated products, services, technological innovations, acquisitions, divestitures or other significant transactions by Hewlett Packard Enterprise or its competitors;



•

quarterly increases or decreases in revenue, gross margin, earnings or cash flows, changes in estimates by the investment community or financial outlook provided by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and variations between actual and estimated financial results;



•

announcements of actual and anticipated financial results by Hewlett Packard Enterprise's competitors and other companies in the IT industry;



•

developments relating to pending investigations, claims and disputes; and



•

the timing and amount of share repurchases by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

        General or industry specific market conditions or stock market performance or domestic or international macroeconomic and geopolitical factors unrelated to Hewlett Packard Enterprise's performance also may affect the price of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock. For these reasons, investors should not rely on recent or historical trends to predict future stock prices, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, as discussed in Note 17, "Litigation and Contingencies", to the Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements, we are involved in several securities class action litigation matters. Additional volatility in the price of our securities could result in the filing of additional securities class action litigation matters, which could result in substantial costs and the diversion of management time and resources.

Failure to maintain a satisfactory credit rating could adversely affect our liquidity, capital position, borrowing costs and access to capital markets.

        We currently maintain investment grade credit ratings with Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings Services. Despite these investment grade credit ratings, any

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future downgrades could increase the cost of borrowing under any indebtedness we may incur, reduce market capacity for our commercial paper or require the posting of additional collateral under our derivative contracts. Additionally, increased borrowing costs, including those arising from a credit rating downgrade, can potentially reduce the competitiveness of our financing business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our credit ratings, and any additional actual or anticipated changes or downgrades in our credit ratings, including any announcement that our ratings are under review for a downgrade, may have a negative impact on our liquidity, capital position and access to capital markets.

Our debt obligations may adversely affect our business and our ability to meet our obligations and pay dividends.

        In addition to our current total carrying debt, we may also incur additional indebtedness in the future. This collective amount of debt could have important adverse consequences to us and our investors, including:

•

requiring a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make principal and interest payments;



•

making it more difficult to satisfy other obligations;



•

increasing the risk of a future credit ratings downgrade of our debt, which could increase future debt costs and limit the future availability of debt financing;



•

increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;



•

reducing the cash flows available to fund capital expenditures and other corporate purposes and to grow our business;



•

limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and



•

limiting our ability to borrow additional funds as needed or take advantage of business opportunities as they arise, pay cash dividends or repurchase our common stock.

        To the extent that we incur additional indebtedness, the risks described above could increase. In addition, our actual cash requirements in the future may be greater than expected. Our cash flow from operations may not be sufficient to service our outstanding debt or to repay our outstanding debt as it becomes due, and we may not be able to borrow money, sell assets or otherwise raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all, to service or refinance our debt.

Certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, and of Delaware law, may prevent or delay an acquisition of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which could decrease the trading price of our common stock.

        We have provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each of which could have the effect of rendering more difficult or discouraging an acquisition of Hewlett Packard Enterprise deemed undesirable by our Board of Directors. These include provisions:

•

authorizing blank check preferred stock, which we could issue with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock;



•

limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;



•

specifying that our stockholders may take action only at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and otherwise in accordance with our bylaws and limiting the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings;

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•

requiring advance notice of proposals by our stockholders for business to be conducted at stockholder meetings and for nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors; and



•

controlling the procedures for conduct of our Board of Directors and stockholder meetings and election, appointment and removal of our directors.

        These provisions, alone or together, could deter or delay hostile takeovers, proxy contests and changes in control or management of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents some stockholders from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock.

        Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control of Hewlett Packard Enterprise could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock and also could affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock.

Risks Related to the Separation

If the distribution, together with certain related transactions, does not qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and those who received Hewlett Packard Enterprise common stock in the distribution could be subject to significant tax liabilities, and, in certain circumstances, Hewlett Packard Enterprise could be required to indemnify HP Inc. for material taxes and other related amounts pursuant to indemnification obligations under the tax matters agreement.

        It was a condition to the distribution that our former parent receive (i) a private letter ruling from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") and/or one or more opinions from its external tax advisors, regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters relating to the separation and related transactions, and (ii) opinions of outside counsel regarding the qualification of the distribution, together with certain related transactions, as a transaction that is generally tax-free, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code. These opinions of outside counsel or other external tax advisors and the IRS private letter ruling were based, among other things, on various facts and assumptions, as well as certain representations, statements and undertakings of HP Co. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (including those relating to the past and future conduct of HP Co. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise). If, in the future, any of these facts, assumptions, representations, statements or undertakings is, or becomes, inaccurate or incomplete, or if HP Inc., as successor to HP Co., or Hewlett Packard Enterprise breach any of their respective covenants contained in any of the separation-related agreements or in the documents relating to the IRS private letter ruling and/or any tax opinion, the IRS private letter ruling and/or any tax opinion may be rendered invalid. Accordingly, notwithstanding HP Co.'s receipt of the IRS private letter ruling and/or opinions of counsel or other external tax advisors, the IRS could determine that the distribution and certain related transactions should be treated as taxable transactions for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it determines that any of the facts, assumptions, representations, statements or undertakings that were included in the request for the IRS private letter ruling or on which any opinion was based are false or have been violated. In addition, the IRS private letter ruling does not address all of the issues that are relevant to determining whether the distribution, together with certain related transactions, qualifies as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and an opinion of outside counsel or other external tax advisor represents the judgment of such counsel or advisor which is not binding on the IRS or any court. Accordingly, notwithstanding receipt by HP Co. of the IRS private letter ruling and the tax opinions referred to above, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not assert that the distribution and/or certain related transactions do not qualify for tax-free treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. In the event the

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IRS were to prevail with such challenge, HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Co. stockholders who received Hewlett Packard Enterprise common stock in the distribution could be subject to significant U.S. federal income tax liability.

        If the distribution, together with certain related transactions, is found to no longer qualify as a transaction that is generally tax-free under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code, in general, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, HP Inc. would recognize taxable gain as if it has sold the Hewlett Packard Enterprise common stock in a taxable sale for its fair market value and HP Co. stockholders who received shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise common stock in the distribution would be subject to tax as if they had received a taxable distribution equal to the fair market value of such shares.

        Under the tax matters agreement we entered into with HP Inc. in connection with the separation (the "Tax Matters Agreement"), we are generally required to indemnify HP Inc. for any taxes resulting from the separation (and any related costs and other damages) to the extent such amounts resulted from (i) an acquisition of all or a portion of the equity securities or assets of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, whether by merger or otherwise (and regardless of whether we participated in or otherwise facilitated the acquisition), (ii) other actions or failures to act by Hewlett Packard Enterprise or (iii) any of the representations or undertakings of Hewlett Packard Enterprise contained in any of the separation-related agreements or in the documents relating to the IRS private letter ruling and/or any tax opinion being incorrect or violated. Any such indemnity obligations could be material.

        In addition we incurred certain tax costs in connection with the separation, including non-U.S. tax costs resulting from separations in multiple non-U.S. jurisdictions that do not legally provide for tax-free separations, which may be material.

We may not be able to engage in desirable strategic or capital-raising transactions following the separation.

        To preserve the tax-free treatment of the separation and the distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for the two-year period following the separation, we are prohibited under the tax matters agreement, except in specific circumstances, from: (i) entering into any transaction pursuant to which all or a portion of the shares of our common stock would be acquired, whether by merger or otherwise, (ii) issuing equity securities beyond certain thresholds, (iii) repurchasing shares of our common stock other than in certain open-market transactions, (iv) ceasing to actively conduct certain of our businesses or (v) taking or failing to take any other action that would prevent the distribution and certain related transactions from qualifying as a transaction that is generally tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Code. These restrictions may limit for a period of time our ability to pursue certain strategic transactions, equity issuances or repurchases or other transactions that we may believe to be in the best interests of our stockholders or that might increase the value of our business.

We have no history of operating as an independent company and we expect to incur increased administrative and other costs following the separation by virtue of our status as an independent public company. Our historical financial information is not necessarily representative of the results that we would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company and may not be a reliable indicator of our future results.

        The historical information about Hewlett Packard Enterprise in this Form 10-K refers to our business as formerly operated by and integrated with our former parent. Our fourth quarter and fiscal year financial information included in this Form 10-K does not necessarily reflect the financial condition, results of operations or cash flows that we would have achieved as a separate, publicly traded company during the periods presented or those that we will achieve in the future primarily as a result of the following factors, among others:

•

Prior to the separation, our business was operated by our former parent as part of its broader corporate organization, rather than as an independent company. Our former parent or one of its

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affiliates performed various corporate functions for us such as legal, treasury, accounting, internal auditing, human resources and corporate affairs, and also provided our IT and other corporate infrastructure. Our financial results reflect allocations of corporate expenses from our former parent for such functions and are likely to be less than the expenses we would have incurred had we operated as a separate publicly traded company. Now that the separation is complete, our costs related to such functions previously performed by HP Co. may increase.

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Historically, when we were integrated with the other businesses of our former parent, we shared economies of scope and scale in costs, employees, vendor relationships and customer relationships. Although we have entered into certain agreements (including a transition services agreement) with HP Inc. in connection with the separation, these arrangements may not fully capture the benefits that we enjoyed as a result of being integrated with our former parent and may result in us paying higher charges than in the past for these services. This could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition in future periods.



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Generally, our working capital requirements and capital for our general corporate purposes, including acquisitions and capital expenditures, have historically been satisfied as part of the corporate-wide cash management policies of our former parent. In connection with the separation, we have entered into certain financing arrangements described under the section entitled "Description of Material Indebtedness" as part of our transition to becoming a standalone company. We may in the future need to obtain additional financing from banks, through public offerings or private placements of debt or equity securities, strategic relationships or other arrangements.



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The cost of capital for our business may be higher than our former parent's cost of capital prior to the separation.

        Other significant changes may occur in our cost structure, management, financing and business operations as a result of operating as a separate company. For additional information about the past financial performance of our business and the basis of presentation of the historical combined and consolidated financial statements of our business, see "Combined and Consolidated Financial Statements," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the historical Combined and Consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

The Separation and Distribution Agreement that we entered into with our former parent may limit our ability to compete in certain markets and may impose limitations on our recruiting efforts for a period of time following the separation.

        The Separation and Distribution Agreement includes non-compete provisions pursuant to which we generally agree to not compete with HP Inc. in certain product and service categories that comprise the HP Inc. business, including personal computers and printers, worldwide for three years from the distribution date. Such restrictions are subject to certain exceptions set forth in the Separation and Distribution Agreement.

        In addition, the Separation and Distribution Agreement contains (i) non-solicitation provisions preventing us from soliciting HP Inc. employees to work for us for twelve months from the distribution date and (ii) no-hire provisions preventing us from hiring HP Inc. employees for six months from the distribution date, in each case subject to certain exceptions.

        The foregoing restrictions may limit our ability to compete in certain markets and may impose limitations on our recruiting efforts. These factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise or HP Inc. may fail to perform under the transition services agreement and other transaction agreements executed as part of the separation, and we may not have necessary systems and services in place when these transaction agreements expire.

        In connection with the separation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. entered into several agreements, including among others a transition services agreement (the "Transition Services Agreement"), the Separation and Distribution Agreement, the Tax Matters Agreement, an employee matters agreement (the "Employee Matters Agreement"), a real estate matters agreement (the "Real Estate Matters Agreement"), a commercial agreement (the "Master Commercial Agreement") and an IT service agreement (the "Information Technology Service Agreement" or the "IT Service Agreement"). The Transition Services Agreement provides for the performance of certain services by each company for the benefit of the other for a transition period after the separation. The Separation and Distribution Agreement, Tax Matters Agreement, Employee Matters Agreement and Real Estate Matters Agreement determine the allocation of assets and liabilities between the companies following the separation for those respective areas and include any necessary indemnifications related to liabilities and obligations. The Master Commercial Agreement establishes a bilateral relationship between HP Inc. and us for the purchase and sale of commercially available products and services for internal use, incorporation and bundling in OEM products and services, resale to customers and use in the provision of managed services to customers, as well as joint customer pursuits and joint development activities. The IT Service Agreement provides for the performance by one of our subsidiaries of certain application development and maintenance and IT infrastructure services for HP Inc. We rely on HP Inc. to satisfy its performance and payment obligations under these agreements. If HP Inc. is unable to satisfy its obligations under these agreements, including its obligations with respect to the provision of transition services, we could incur operational difficulties or losses that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        In addition, if we do not have in place our own systems and services, or if we do not have agreements with other providers of these services in place once certain transition services expire, we may not be able to operate our business effectively and our profitability may decline. We are in the process of creating our own, or engaging third parties to provide, systems and services to replace many of the systems and services that HP Inc. provides to us under the Transition Services Agreement. However, we may not be successful in implementing these systems and services or in transitioning from HP Inc.'s systems to our own systems, and may pay more for such systems and services that we pay under the Transition Services Agreement.

The separation may in the future result in disruptions to, and negatively impact our relationships with, our customers and other business partners. In addition, certain contracts that that needed to be assigned from HP Inc. or its affiliates to Hewlett Packard Enterprise in connection with the separation and required the consent of the counterparty to such an assignment have not, as yet, and failure to obtain these consents could increase our expenses or otherwise harm our business and financial performance.

        Uncertainty related to the Hewlett Packard Enterprise's position post-separation may lead customers and other parties with which we currently do business or may do business in the future to terminate or attempt to negotiate changes in our existing business relationships, or cause them to consider entering into business relationships with parties other than us. These disruptions could have a material and adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

        In addition, the Separation and Distribution Agreement provided for the assignment of a number of contracts from HP Inc. or its affiliates to us or our affiliates. A minority of our customer contracts require the contractual counterparty's consent to assignment, a small number of which remain outstanding post-separation. If we are unable to obtain these consents, we may be unable to obtain some of the benefits, assets and contractual commitments that are intended to be allocated to us as

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part of the separation. If we are unable to obtain these consents, the loss of these contracts could increase our expenses or otherwise reduce our profitability.

Indemnification liabilities to HP Inc. pursuant to the Separation and Distribution Agreement could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

        The Separation and Distribution Agreement provides for, among other things, indemnification obligations generally designed to make us financially responsible for (i) liabilities primarily associated with our business; (ii) our failure to pay, perform or otherwise promptly discharge any such liabilities or contracts, in accordance with their respective terms, whether prior to, at or after the distribution; (iii) any guarantee, indemnification obligation, surety bond or other credit support agreement, arrangement, commitment or understanding by HP Inc. for our benefit, unless related to liabilities primarily associated with the HP Inc. business; (iv) any breach by us of the separation agreement or any of the ancillary agreements or any action by us in contravention of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; and (v) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, with respect to all information contained in our registration statement on Form 10 or any other disclosure document that describes the separation or the distribution or Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its subsidiaries or primarily relates to the transactions contemplated by the Separation and Distribution Agreement, subject to certain exceptions. If we are required to indemnify HP Inc. under the circumstances set forth in the Separation and Distribution Agreement, we may be subject to substantial liabilities.

In connection with the separation, HP Inc. has indemnified us for certain liabilities. However, there can be no assurance that the indemnity will be sufficient to insure us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that HP Inc.'s ability to satisfy its indemnification obligation will not be impaired in the future.

        Pursuant to the Separation and Distribution Agreement and certain other agreements we have entered into with HP Inc., HP Inc. has agreed to indemnify Hewlett Packard Enterprise for certain liabilities. However, third parties could also seek to hold us responsible for any of the liabilities that HP Inc. has agreed to retain, and there can be no assurance that the indemnity from HP Inc. will be sufficient to protect us against the full amount of such liabilities, or that HP Inc. will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. In addition, HP Inc.'s insurers may attempt to deny us coverage for liabilities associated with certain occurrences of indemnified liabilities prior to the separation. Moreover, even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from HP Inc. or such insurance providers any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be temporarily required to bear these losses. Each of these risks could negatively affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

We are subject to continuing contingent liabilities as a result of our separation from our former parent.

        As a result of the separation from our former parent, there are several significant areas where the liabilities of our former parent have or may become our obligations. For example, under the Code and the related rules and regulations, each corporation that was a member of the consolidated U.S. federal income tax return group of our former parent during a taxable period or portion of a taxable period ending on or before the effective date of the distribution is severally liable for the U.S. federal income tax liability of the consolidated U.S. federal income tax return group of our former parent for that taxable period. Consequently, if HP Inc. is unable to pay the consolidated U.S. federal income tax liability for a pre-separation period, we could be required to pay the amount of such tax, which could be substantial and in excess of the amount allocated to us under the tax matters agreement.

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Potential liabilities may arise due to fraudulent transfer considerations, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

        In connection with the separation and distribution, our former parent undertook several corporate reorganization transactions involving its subsidiaries which, along with the separation and distribution, may be subject to federal and state fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws. If, under these laws, a court were to determine that, at the time of the separation and distribution, any entity involved in these reorganization transactions or the separation and distribution:

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was insolvent;



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was rendered insolvent by reason of the separation and distribution;



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had remaining assets constituting unreasonably small capital; or



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intended to incur, or believed it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay these debts as they matured,

then the court could void the separation and distribution, in whole or in part, as a fraudulent conveyance or transfer. The court could then require our stockholders to return to HP Inc. some or all of the shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise common stock issued in the distribution, or require HP Inc. or Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as the case may be, to fund liabilities of the other company for the benefit of creditors. The measure of insolvency will vary depending upon the jurisdiction whose law is being applied. Generally, however, an entity would be considered insolvent if the fair value of its assets was less than the amount of its liabilities, or if it incurred debt beyond its ability to repay the debt as it matures.

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