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HP/HPE-related stock – step-by-step.
(Page updated Feb 24, 2026) Question? Email us: info@hpalumni.org From the independent association for former employees of HP and HPE -- and those in the process of leaving. Not officially endorsed or supported.
Use this page to quickly step through the common stock-related issues that may apply to you. Each link on this page opens a new window. Close the tabs as you resolve the issues.
Quick review – in case you happened to miss a key stock issue...
Keep address current on every financial account. Run easy unclaimed property search every year. Employer does not update your address.
Neither cashing dividend checks, receiving direct deposits, online access, nor receiving statements prevents inactive accounts from being turned over to the state – only a personally-initiated transaction, postal response, or call. Difficult to retrieve money; stock is sold. Unclaimed Property Most people will merely find uncashed dividend checks. Some may find lost shares or uncashed stock-buyout checks.
Administrators and brokers.
Before Nov 1, 2000, the HP employee stock purchase program was administered by HP's stock transfer agent. When you left the company, the stock stayed at the transfer agent, currently EQ (Equiniti.)
Since 2000, the employee stock purchase program has been administered by Fidelity, "MyBenefits" at Merrill, or "StockPlan Connect" at Morgan Stanley. When you left the company any shares you owned were automatically moved from an employer-paid account at the plan administrator to a personal account at their brokerage division. An annual fee is often charged, which can drain a small account. Details of your purchase lots should be preserved. However, if you move the shares to a different brokerage, shares will be moved in a single lot. Some brokers let you correct the records to include lot-by-lot cost basis data.
If you transfer stock out of an account at a transfer agent, administrator, or brokerage, you must obtain a "Medallion Signature Guarantee." https://www.hpalumni.org/StockMedallion
If there is a stock spinoff, the new stock will either be at the spun-off company's Transfer Agent or in your personal Stock Brokerage account -- depending on where the parent stock was located.
Financial advisors. You need to understand the role and motivations of each person and company. Member discussion: Financial Advisors
Received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit" letter from U.S. Social Security? How to decode this confusing letter -- and who to contact, if necessary: Potential Benefit letter
Received a letter from transfer agent "EQ Unify" about your stock? You must take action. Letter is unclear and doesn't cover all choices. Letter from "EQ Unify"
Exercised stock options? You need both a 1099-B and a W-2. How to obtain your W-2 How stock options work. How they expire. Tax issues: Stock options
Have paper stock certificates? Stock Certificates
Retain your documents and tax calculations indefinitely. Transactions were often tracked and reported differently – or not at all. Due to the many complex HP-related stock events, only you – not the company, plan administrators, transfer agents, brokers, or the IRS – can reconstruct your full employee stock history. ("IRS Can Audit for Three Years, Six, or Forever" American Bar Association )
What do you want to do?
Find all your HP/HPE-related stock. Your HP, HPE, and spinoff stock is often held in multiple accounts -- at your employer's stock transfer agent, at employee stock purchase or option/incentive plan administrators, at transfer agents for spun-off companies, or in personal brokerage accounts. Where is my stock?
Check that you received the many stock and cash payouts -- often in multiple accounts -- as Hewlett-Packard was broken up into Agilent (A), Keysight (KEYS), HP Inc (HPQ), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), DXC (DXC), Micro Focus (MFGP, in the form of American Depository Shares), and Perspecta (PRSP). Your current cost basis depends on when you acquired shares as companies were bought, spun off, and merged. Our table covers 1957 to date: How many shares; how much cash?
Check on how these complex transactions were tracked and reported by the company's plan administrators and transfer agents, and by your brokers. Many were handled differently -- or not reported at all. They will use the cost basis in their records (which may be $0) to report your apparent profit to the IRS. You could pay taxes twice on the same income. The IRS has a form to help you deal with cost basis discrepancies. Employee stock cost basis
Ensure that your MFGP
transactions are treated consistently. There are two
very different possible tax treatments for the spinoff. Plan
administrators, transfer agents, and brokers treated the
spinoff and payouts differently.
Easy to pay taxes twice:
Micro
Focus
Check for issues with specific brokers. Reports from
HPAA members on records, tax treatment, etc. Some let you
correct your cost basis records.
Member reports:
Fidelity
Merrill
Morgan Stanley Schwab/TDAmeritrade
Vanguard Brokerage
Retrieve stock records from the various HP/HPE-related stock transfer agents and plan administrators -- when possible. Member Advice on Records
If you don't have good records -- or did not input your lot-and-cost information into your broker's system -- you can use our spreadsheets to estimate your cost basis for most HP/HPE-related stocks for any span of HP employment from Jul 1959 through the Nov 2000 plan changeover -- and calculate ordinary income/capital gain lot-by-lot from Nov 2000 to Oct 2017. Stock Spreadsheets
If you need additional details on a specific HP/HPE-related stock...
Agilent (A) and Keysight (KEYS) Spun off by Hewlett-Packard in 2000. KEYS spun off by Agilent in 2014.
DXC (DXC) Spun off by HPE in 2017.
Micro Focus (MFGP) Spun off and merged by HPE in 2017. New shares and cash issued in 2019. Bought by OpenText in 2023.
Perspecta (PRSP) Spun off by DXC in 2018. Bought by Peraton in 2021.
Hewlett-Packard Company and HP Inc (HWP, HPQ)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Spun off by Hewlett-Packard in 2015.
If you had stock in a company that HP or HPE acquired or merged with, check for cash payout or new shares: Autonomy (AUTNF) Compaq (CPQ) DEC (DEC) EDS (EDS) Juniper (JNPR) Micro Focus (MFGP) Plantronics (POLY) Tandem (TDM) Other Predecessor Companies
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