The WACC of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) is 9.4%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 9.70% - 13.90% | 11.80% | 
| Tax rate | 7.30% - 10.60% | 8.95% | 
| Cost of debt | 4.50% - 7.00% | 5.75% | 
| WACC | 7.7% - 11.1% | 9.4% | 
| Category | Low | High | 
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% | 
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% | 
| Adjusted beta | 1.28 | 1.61 | 
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% | 
| Cost of equity | 9.70% | 13.90% | 
| Tax rate | 7.30% | 10.60% | 
| Debt/Equity ratio | 0.57 | 0.57 | 
| Cost of debt | 4.50% | 7.00% | 
| After-tax WACC | 7.7% | 11.1% | 
| Selected WACC | 9.4% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for HPE:
cost_of_equity (11.80%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (1.28) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.