International Business Machines Corporation · IBM · Next earnings

International Business Machines Corporation reports Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026

IBM reports after market close with consensus EPS at $2.90 and revenue at $16.81B. Last quarter: IBM Q2 2026: Revenue Growth Cools to 1% as CapEx Deal Timing Masks Underlying Strength

Reports After market close31 days awayDate estimated Technology

What the street expects

Consensus for the coming report
Consensus EPS $2.90 Calendar consensus
Consensus revenue $16.81B Calendar consensus
Report date Oct 21, 2026 Wednesday, date estimated
Session After market close 31 days away

Where IBM left off: FY2026 Q2

Full report

IBM Q2 2026: Revenue Growth Cools to 1% as CapEx Deal Timing Masks Underlying Strength

EPS surprise 0.0% Reported $2.93 vs $2.93
Revenue surprise -1.7% Reported $17.16B vs $17.46B
Stock move +0.4% Event window
Subsequent drift +4.7% Up to 20 sessions

FY 2026 revenue guidance was maintained at 4%–5%, compared with Q1's expressed confidence in exceeding 5% growth. The $1 billion free-cash-flow growth target was reiterated, alongside planned 100bp of operating-pretax margin expansion. Guidance sentiment was maintained.

What to watch on the call

Carried forward from the last transcript

Risks management flagged

  • Shift of client spending toward CapEx-heavy infrastructure causing deal timing volatility.
  • Supply-chain constraints and inventory buildup in infrastructure products.
  • Higher cash-tax and net-interest expenses impacting free cash flow.
  • Potential macroeconomic slowdown affecting overall IT spend.
  • Dependence on continued mainframe and AI adoption to drive growth.

Questions analysts left open

  • Whether the Q2 software shortfall is temporary deferral or permanent demand erosion.
  • Mainframe transaction-processing and program-to-program growth outlook.
  • Achievability of the 6%–8% full-year software growth range.
  • Impact of higher CapEx and tax headwinds on free-cash-flow targets.
  • Performance of the data-software portfolio relative to other software segments.

Ask FN2 about IBM next report

Transcript, numbers and history already loaded
What should I watch for in IBM's next earnings report?How did IBM guide last quarter, and is consensus above or below that?Give me the bull and bear case going into IBM earnings.

Free account. Your question opens in FN2 with this report's transcript and numbers attached.

Get the IBM recap when the next report posts

One email per quarter with the scorecard, the market reaction and what changed on the call. No account needed.

Recent IBM quarters

All IBM earnings
+0.4%FY2026 Q2

Sources

  1. FN2 corporate events calendar, resolved from the earnings calendar feed
  2. FN2 earnings calendar analyst consensus
  3. Earnings call transcript analysis, FY2026 Q2

Methodology

The report date comes from FN2's resolved corporate-events calendar and is marked estimated until the company confirms it. Consensus figures are the calendar's latest analyst estimates for the fiscal period and are not an FN2 forecast.

Risks and open questions are carried forward verbatim from FN2's structured analysis of the previous earnings call. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.