International Business Machines Corporation · IBM · FY2025 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2025

IBM raises guidance as AI and hybrid cloud drive growth

The supplied analysis supports a constructive but conditional thesis: IBM's AI, hybrid-cloud, automation, and mainframe momentum is translating into faster growth and higher guidance, but sustainability depends on converting the AI book into revenue, integrating acquisitions, and offsetting weakness in Transaction Processing.

Reported After market closeNYSETechnology $207.90B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $2.65 Consensus $2.45
EPS surprise +8.2% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $16.33B Consensus $16.09B
Revenue surprise +1.5% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move -0.9% Event window
SPY move +0.6% Same window
Abnormal move -1.5% Stock minus SPY
Volume 3.1× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift +1.9% Up to 20 sessions
IBMSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Compared with the prior-quarter analysis, the supplied current analysis describes faster 7% year-over-year revenue growth, a higher $14 billion free-cash-flow target, a $9.5 billion AI book, and continued infrastructure momentum. It also adds greater emphasis on AI partnerships, quantum initiatives, and the need to convert booked AI demand into realized revenue.

Guidance delta

Raised: full-year revenue growth guidance remains above 5%, and free-cash-flow guidance increased to $14 billion.

Key takeaways

  • Q3 revenue accelerated 7% year over year, with sequential growth across all segments.
  • AI and hybrid cloud remain the central growth engines; automation grew 22% and the AI book reached $9.5 billion.
  • Infrastructure growth was supported by z17 mainframe and AI inferencing momentum, while Transaction Processing remained down.

Management priorities

  • Expand Watson X, Granite AI models, and new AI services.
  • Complete HashiCorp integration and extend Terraform automation offerings.
  • Advance z17 AI inferencing, quantum initiatives, and AI consulting engagements.

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
IBM EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 9 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q1 '24 estimate $1.60 Q1 '24 actual $1.68, beat Q2 '24 estimate $2.20 Q2 '24 actual $2.43, beat Q3 '24 estimate $2.22 Q3 '24 actual $2.30, beat Q2 '25 estimate $2.65 Q2 '25 actual $2.80, beat Q3 '25 estimate $2.45 Q3 '25 actual $2.65, beat Q4 '25 estimate $4.31 Q4 '25 actual $4.52, beat Q1 '26 estimate $1.81 Q1 '26 actual $1.91, beat Q2 '26 estimate $2.93 Q2 '26 actual $2.93, match Q3 '26 estimate $2.86 Q4 '26 estimate $4.62 Q1 '27 estimate $2.17 Q2 '27 estimate $3.12
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Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold51 ratings
Bullish2447.1%
Neutral2243.1%
Bearish59.8%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$219.99Current
$112Low
$241.24Average
$380High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 29, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Susquehanna Neutral NeutralMaintainAug 31, 2026
Citigroup Buy BuyMaintainJul 24, 2026
RBC Capital Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 23, 2026
Morgan Stanley Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainJul 23, 2026
BMO Capital Market Perform Market PerformMaintainJul 23, 2026
Barclays Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 23, 2026
Jefferies Buy BuyMaintainJul 21, 2026
Stifel Buy BuyMaintainJul 20, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 17, 2026
Evercore ISI Group Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 16, 2026
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainJul 16, 2026
Oppenheimer Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 14, 2026
HSBC Reduce HoldDowngradeJul 14, 2026
B of A Securities Buy BuyMaintainJul 6, 2026
Wedbush Outperform OutperformMaintainMay 29, 2026
UBS Neutral SellUpgradeFeb 25, 2026
Goldman Sachs Buy BuyMaintainJul 2, 2025
Bernstein Market Perform Market PerformMaintainJan 3, 2025
Societe Generale Sell HoldDowngradeJan 5, 2024
Credit Suisse Outperform OutperformMaintainJul 11, 2023
Edward Jones Hold BuyDowngradeFeb 6, 2023
MoffettNathanson Market Perform UnderperformUpgradeJan 19, 2023
Tigress Financial Neutral NeutralMaintainApr 21, 2022
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainApr 14, 2020
Nomura Buy BuyMaintainMar 23, 2020
Cantor Fitzgerald Neutral NeutralMaintainJan 22, 2020
Bank of America Buy BuyMaintainAug 5, 2019
Argus Hold BuyDowngradeOct 18, 2018
Moffett Nathanson Sell SellMaintainOct 4, 2018
Stifel Nicolaus Buy BuyMaintainJul 19, 2018
Pivotal Research Buy BuyMaintainOct 27, 2017
Standpoint Research Buy HoldUpgradeJul 19, 2017
Pacific Crest Equal Weight Sector WeightMaintainMay 19, 2017
Berenberg Sell SellMaintainApr 4, 2017
Guggenheim Neutral NeutralMaintainJan 4, 2017
JMP Securities Market Outperform Market OutperformMaintainJul 19, 2016
Drexel Hamilton Buy BuyMaintainJul 19, 2016
Deutsche Bank Hold HoldMaintainJul 19, 2016
Atlantic Equities Underweight NeutralDowngradeMar 2, 2015
Evercore Partners Hold BuyDowngradeOct 21, 2014
CLSA Buy BuyMaintainSep 30, 2014
J. Safra Sarasin Neutral BuyDowngradeApr 24, 2014
Cowen & Co. Market Perform OutperformDowngradeDec 6, 2013
Argus Capital Hold BuyDowngradeOct 18, 2013
S&P Capital IQ Strong Buy BuyUpgradeSep 9, 2013
Topeka Buy BuyMaintainDec 21, 2012
Janney Montgomery Scott Neutral BuyDowngradeOct 17, 2012
Janney Capital Neutral BuyDowngradeOct 17, 2012
Canaccord Genuity Hold HoldMaintainApr 18, 2012
Bank oferica Neutral NeutralMaintainApr 4, 2012
Oxen Group Buy BuyMaintainMar 14, 2012
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Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $219.99. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
SusquehannaJames Friedman$235$233.51 +6.8%Aug 31, 2026
SusquehannaJames Friedman$225$211.99 +2.3%Jul 24, 2026
BMO CapitalAnalyst unavailable$230$203.62 +4.6%Jul 23, 2026
Goldman SachsAnalyst unavailable$270$205.77 +22.7%Jul 23, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$190$205.77 -13.6%Jul 23, 2026
BarclaysAnalyst unavailable$262$205.77 +19.1%Jul 23, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$230$210.5 +4.6%Jul 21, 2026
RBC CapitalMatthew Swanson$270$210.66 +22.7%Jul 21, 2026
BarclaysRaimo Lenschow$288$213 +30.9%Jul 21, 2026
JefferiesBrent Thill$260$213 +18.2%Jul 21, 2026
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$235$212.67 +6.8%Jul 20, 2026
HSBCAbhishek Shukla$175$214.05 -20.5%Jul 16, 2026
Argus ResearchJim Kelleher$280$210.5 +27.3%Jul 16, 2026
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$350$220.02 +59.1%Jul 14, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$293$290.23 +33.2%Jul 14, 2026
HSBCAnalyst unavailable$191$290.23 -13.2%Jul 14, 2026
SusquehannaAnalyst unavailable$303$295.3 +37.7%Jul 10, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$267$252.22 +21.4%Jun 23, 2026
WedbushAnalyst unavailable$350$320.42 +59.1%Jun 2, 2026
BarclaysRaimo Lenschow$350$297.8 +59.1%Jun 1, 2026
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$290$252.97 +31.8%May 22, 2026
HSBCAnalyst unavailable$231$228.05 +5.0%Apr 28, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$225$226.52 +2.3%Apr 23, 2026
BMO CapitalAnalyst unavailable$270$224.71 +22.7%Apr 23, 2026
WedbushDaniel Ives$320$251.86 +45.5%Apr 23, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$320$253.47 +45.5%Apr 20, 2026
RBC CapitalMatthew Swanson$330$253.25 +50.0%Apr 17, 2026
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$320$247.36 +45.5%Apr 16, 2026
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$215$237.82 -2.3%Apr 14, 2026
Argus ResearchAnalyst unavailable$360$304.06 +63.6%Jan 30, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$345$303.99 +56.8%Jan 29, 2026
RBC CapitalMatthew Swanson$361$310.87 +64.1%Jan 29, 2026
OppenheimerParam Singh$380$314.15 +72.7%Jan 29, 2026
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$340$314.44 +54.6%Jan 29, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$345$313.64 +56.8%Jan 29, 2026
WedbushDaniel Ives$340$294.16 +54.6%Jan 29, 2026
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$350$294.16 +59.1%Jan 29, 2026
UBSAnalyst unavailable$317$312.54 +44.1%Jan 29, 2026
UBSDavid Vogt$236$294.16 +7.3%Jan 29, 2026
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$304$294.16 +38.2%Jan 29, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$370$294.16 +68.2%Jan 29, 2026
Evercore ISIAnalyst unavailable$330$305.67 +50.0%Jan 20, 2026
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$350$291.5 +59.1%Jan 5, 2026
JefferiesAnalyst unavailable$360$291.5 +63.6%Jan 5, 2026
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$325$309.18 +47.7%Dec 9, 2025
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$360$290.4 +63.6%Nov 21, 2025
RBC CapitalAnalyst unavailable$300$277.58 +36.4%Oct 23, 2025
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$252$280.27 +14.6%Oct 23, 2025
UBSAnalyst unavailable$210$287.51 -4.5%Oct 23, 2025
BMO CapitalAnalyst unavailable$305$287.51 +38.6%Oct 23, 2025
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$295$287.51 +34.1%Oct 23, 2025
JefferiesBrent Thill$305$283.65 +38.6%Oct 21, 2025
JefferiesBrent Thill$300$283.65 +36.4%Oct 21, 2025
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$256$276.15 +16.4%Oct 15, 2025
KGI SecuritiesRob Chang$242$229.33 +10.0%Apr 24, 2025
UBSDavid Vogt$170$229.33 -22.7%Apr 24, 2025
Bank of America SecuritiesWamsi Mohan$250$217.63 +13.6%Oct 24, 2024
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$260$216.94 +18.2%Oct 24, 2024
Goldman SachsJames Schneider$250$232.75 +13.6%Oct 24, 2024
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$246$232.96 +11.8%Oct 16, 2024
Evercore ISIAmit Daryanani$240$220.84 +9.1%Sep 27, 2024
BernsteinToni Sacconaghi$185$220.97 -15.9%Sep 25, 2024
JefferiesBrent Thill$200$203.53 -9.1%Sep 10, 2024
NeedhamMatt Dezort$256.79$130.75 +16.7%Aug 20, 2024
Stifel NicolausDavid Grossman$205$184.02 -6.8%Jul 25, 2024
J.P. MorganBrian Essex$185$174.95 -15.9%Jul 2, 2024
RBC CapitalMatthew Swanson$200$173.25 -9.1%May 22, 2024
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$190$167.8 -13.6%Apr 25, 2024
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$179$184.1 -18.6%Apr 25, 2024
JefferiesBrent Thill$190$184.1 -13.6%Apr 25, 2024
Evercore ISIAmit Daryanani$215$184.1 -2.3%Apr 24, 2024
JefferiesBrent Thill$210$181.9 -4.5%Apr 23, 2024
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$210$189.82 -4.5%Apr 9, 2024
RBC CapitalMatthew Swanson$179$143.88 -18.6%Oct 26, 2023
Loop Capital MarketsKeith Bachman$152$137.9 -30.9%Jul 20, 2023
BernsteinToni Sacconaghi$145$127.08 -34.1%Apr 20, 2023
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$143$130.42 -35.0%Apr 11, 2023
Cantor FitzgeraldJoseph Foresi$138$131.22 -37.3%Feb 27, 2023
Loop Capital MarketsKeith Bachman$148$128.72 -32.7%Oct 20, 2022
UBSDavid Vogt Vogt$112$121.63 -49.1%Sep 30, 2022
Credit SuisseSami Badri$156$130.79 -29.1%Jul 31, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$155$138.13 -29.5%Jul 19, 2022
Tigress FinancialAnalyst unavailable$139$138.32 -36.8%Apr 21, 2022
BMO CapitalAnalyst unavailable$152$136.82 -30.9%Apr 20, 2022
Credit SuisseAnalyst unavailable$166$135.96 -24.5%Apr 20, 2022
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$157$129.15 -28.6%Apr 20, 2022
Rosenblatt SecuritiesAnalyst unavailable$118.06$43.07 -46.3%Apr 19, 2022
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$148$126.56 -32.7%Apr 17, 2022
Morgan StanleyErik Woodring$150$126.14 -31.8%Apr 14, 2022
Evercore ISIAmit Daryanani$140$130.15 -36.4%Apr 3, 2022
BMO CapitalKeith Bachman$155$137.15 -29.5%Feb 5, 2022
Credit SuisseSami Badri$165$134.5 -25.0%Jan 28, 2022
UBSDavid Vogt$118$134.48 -46.4%Jan 25, 2022
Goldman SachsBrian Essex$144$134.48 -34.5%Jan 25, 2022
Morgan StanleyKaty Huberty$147$129.35 -33.2%Jan 22, 2022
Goldman SachsBrian Essex$140$134.21 -36.4%Jan 15, 2022
Argus ResearchJim Kelleher$165$133.39 -25.0%Oct 8, 2021
Societe GeneraleRichard Nguyen$140$128.88 -36.4%Jul 20, 2021
DZ BANK AGIngo Wermann$155$130.72 -29.5%Apr 21, 2021
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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) delivers comprehensive technology solutions and services across the globe. The company's operations are structured into four primary segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. The Software division provides hybrid cloud platforms and a range of software offerings, including Red Hat's enterprise open-source solutions. It also develops software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers, in addition to data and artificial intelligence tools. This segment further supplies security software and services for threat, data, and identity management, and offers critical transaction processing software that supports essential on-premise workloads for industries such as banking, airlines, and retail.…

Historical context

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-29T19:41:02.250558+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-29T19:41:02.247803+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-09-29. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.