Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Sep 5. The company posted a negative earnings surprise of 28.6% in the last quarter. Notably, Hewlett Packard has a mixed surprise history, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate twice, missing the same in one occasion and matching in the other. It has an average negative earnings surprise of 4.4%.Factors to ConsiderLower demand for servers at the enterprise and SMB segments due to the presence of virtualization and cloud options makes us slightly cautious about Hewlett Packard’s near-term prospects. Notably, per the latest report from Gartner and IDC, server shipments declined for the fifth straight quarter in first-quarter 2017.The declining trend in server shipments has been hurting Hewlett Packard’s revenues. It should be noted that per Gartner’s report, the company witnessed a year-over-year fall of 15.8% in server revenues and 14.3% in shipments during first-quarter 2017.Moreover, citing preliminary statistics, Gartner, last month, hinted that server shipments may register another fall in second-quarter 2017. Therefore, we are concerned that the company’s to-be-reported quarterly results will be adversely affected by this persistent decline.Furthermore, elevated commodities pricing and execution issues remain a major headwind, which are likely to thwart the company’s overall performance in the near term.Also, macroeconomic challenges and tepid IT spending remain near-term concerns. Competition from peers adds to its woes.Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Price and EPS Surprise Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Price and EPS Surprise | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company QuoteEarnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that Hewlett Packard will likely beat on earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or at least 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below.Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Hewlett Packard Enterprise is -0.87%. This is so because the Most Accurate estimate of 25 cents is a penny lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: Hewlett Packard carries a Zacks Rank #3. Though this increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.Stock that Warrant a LookHere are a couple of stock you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ, scheduled to release earnings on Sep 7, currently has an Earnings ESP of +16.67% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Navistar International Corporation NAV, expected to release earnings on Sep 6, currently has an Earnings ESP of +25% and a Zacks Rank #3.G-III Apparel Group, LTD. GIII, expected to release earnings on Sep 6, currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.76% and a Zacks Rank #3.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE): Free Stock Analysis Report Navistar International Corporation (NAV): Free Stock Analysis Report Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ): Free Stock Analysis Report G-III Apparel Group, LTD. (GIII): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.