International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), headquartered in Armonk, New York, is a global leader in information technology, providing a wide range of services, software, and hardware solutions. With a market cap of $207.60 billion, IBM drives innovation in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and enterprise solutions, helping businesses across industries transform their operations. The company is set to announce its Q3 earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect IBM to report a profit of $2.25 per share, up 2.3% from $2.20 in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports.
Its adjusted earnings of $2.43 per share for the last quarter surpassed the consensus estimate by 12.5%. IBM's quarterly earnings beat expectations, driven by robust performance in its cloud and consulting segments.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect IBM to report EPS of $10.10, up 5% from $9.62 in fiscal 2023.
IBM stock has gained 38.2% on a YTD basis, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 20.6% gains and the Vanguard Information Technology ETF’s (VGT) 20.9% returns over the same time frame.
On Jul. 25, IBM shares gained over 4% after better-than-expected Q2 results on Jul. 24. In addition to the earnings beat, revenue of $15.77 billion surpassed analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion.
On Aug. 29, IBM announced a collaboration with Intel Corporation (INTC) to deploy Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators as a service on IBM Cloud, expected to launch in early 2025. IBM Cloud will be the first to support Gaudi 3 in hybrid and on-premise environments, addressing the growing demand for affordable AI computing solutions.
The consensus opinion on IBM stock is cautious, with an overall “Hold” rating. Of 16 analysts covering the stock, four advise a “Strong Buy” rating, one suggests a “Moderate Buy,” nine suggest a “Hold,” and two advise a “Strong Sell.” IBM's average analyst price target is $195.94, which indicates that the stock trades at a premium.
On the date of publication, Rashmi Kumari did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.