HPQ vs DELL: HP Inc vs Dell Technologies Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HP Inc. is focused on PCs and printing with reliable FCF from supplies, while Dell is a more complete enterprise IT company with AI server demand as a primary growth driver. Dell has significantly more exposure to AI infrastructure; HP Inc. has more reliable near-term cash flow.
HPQ vs DELL is printing FCF and AI PC refresh versus AI server infrastructure and enterprise IT platform — Dell wins if AI server demand sustains and ISG margins hold; HP Inc. wins if AI PC commercial refresh drives incremental upgrade cycles while print supplies remain resilient.
DELL holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. DELL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+267.34% vs -2.56%), though HPQ has the better forward P/E setup (8.05x vs 21.15x for DELL). Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for DELL (+7.16%) than for HPQ (-5.40%).
- →prefer stable FCF from print supplies with modest AI PC upside
- →value HP Inc.'s buyback program funded by consistent printing cash flows
- →want lower AI infrastructure exposure with less GPU server margin risk
- →prefer a simpler PC-and-print business over Dell's enterprise IT complexity
- →want AI server demand exposure through Dell's enterprise relationships and ISG growth
- →value Dell's full-stack enterprise IT position across servers, storage, networking, and PCs
- →believe enterprise GenAI buildout sustains PowerEdge AI server revenue growth for multiple years
- →prefer a larger enterprise IT market exposure vs HP Inc.'s PC and printing concentration
| Metric | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 39.4 | 69.4 |
| AI rank | #1240 | #38 |
| Latest close | $24.77 | $454.73 |
| 1M return | -1.86% | +14.95% |
| 6M return | +15.37% | +280.28% |
| 1Y return | -2.56% | +267.34% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.98K (-0.2%) started 2025-07-14 | $37.31K (+273.1%) started 2025-07-14 |
| 5Y ago | $11.19K (+11.9%) started 2021-07-14 | $116.48K (+1064.8%) started 2021-07-14 |
| 10Y ago | $32.52K (+225.2%) started 2016-07-14 | $456.93K (+4469.3%) started 2016-08-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $22.15B | $293.82B |
| Trailing P/E | 8.97 | 36.20 |
| Forward P/E | 8.05 | 21.15 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 2.19 |
| EV/Revenue | 0.51 | 2.22 |
| Analyst target | $22.91 | $487.26 |
| Target upside | -5.40% | +7.16% |
| Metric | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 9.00% | 87.50% |
| Earnings growth | 16.20% | 282.50% |
| EPS growth | +16.20% | +282.50% |
| FCF margin | +6.01% | +4.06% |
| Operating margin | 7.11% | N/A |
| Profit margin | 4.45% | 6.28% |
| ROIC proxy | N/A | N/A |
| Return on equity | N/A | N/A |
| Dividend yield | 4.97% | 0.58% |
| Beta | 1.21 | 1.38 |
| Debt/equity | N/A | N/A |
| Current ratio | 0.79 | 0.95 |
| Quick ratio | 0.44 | 0.61 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -0.24% | +267.34% |
| CAGR | -0.24% | +267.67% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.08 | 2.19 | |
| Max drawdown | 37.99% | 32.34% | |
| Max daily drop | 6.99% | 9.13% | |
| Max wkly drop | 13.50% | 15.16% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -1.93% | +955.67% |
| CAGR | -0.39% | +60.23% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.04 | 1.08 | |
| Max drawdown | 52.83% | 59.59% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.71% | 18.99% | |
| Max wkly drop | 21.27% | 23.19% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +136.84% | +4041.19% |
| CAGR | +9.01% | +45.63% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.29 | 0.97 | |
| Max drawdown | 52.83% | 59.59% | |
| Max daily drop | 17.27% | 21.64% | |
| Max wkly drop | 32.28% | 23.70% |
| Category | HPQ | DELL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | HP Inc. | Dell Technologies Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | PC hardware and printing company generating significant FCF from toner and ink supplies alongside commercial PC and workstation sales. | Enterprise IT infrastructure company with commercial PCs and workstations, PowerEdge servers (including AI GPU servers), PowerStore storage, and networking solutions. Dell's ISG (Infrastructure Solutions Group) is benefiting from AI server demand alongside its CSG (Client Solutions Group) PC business. |
| Investor focus | PC refresh cycle, AI PC commercial adoption, print supplies revenue, and capital return. | AI server revenue from GPU-configured PowerEdge systems, storage recovery, PC commercial refresh, and VMware ecosystem revenue post-spin. |
- →Strong print supplies recurring revenue provides FCF resilience independent of hardware sales cycles
- →Commercial PC brand strength in enterprise markets
- →AI PC refresh is a near-term demand catalyst
- →Dell's direct enterprise sales model and massive enterprise customer relationships make it the preferred vendor for AI server procurement alongside Supermicro
- →ISG AI server backlog has grown explosively as enterprises build GenAI infrastructure — Dell's channel and direct relationships are a significant advantage
- →Dell spans PCs, servers, storage, and networking — a full-stack enterprise IT partner for large corporations
- →Secular printer volume decline is a long-term drag
- →PC market maturity limits organic growth
- →No material AI infrastructure server business to diversify from PC cyclicality
- →AI GPU server margins are thinner than traditional server margins — Dell faces intense competition from Supermicro and ODMs on AI server pricing
- →VMware's acquisition by Broadcom creates uncertainty for Dell's historical partner relationship with the virtualization ecosystem
- →PC market softness and AI server gross margin pressure can compress ISG profitability unexpectedly
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