Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for IBM Earnings

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for International Business Machines in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 5th. Zacks Research analyst S. Bose now forecasts that the technology company will post earnings of $1.57 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.60. The consensus estimate for International Business Machines' current full-year earnings is $10.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for International Business Machines' Q3 2025 earnings at $2.49 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $11.22 EPS.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The company's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $208.12.

International Business Machines Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of IBM stock traded down $8.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $230.02. 4,968,613 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,232,195. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $221.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.27. International Business Machines has a 12-month low of $157.88 and a 12-month high of $239.35. The stock has a market cap of $212.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Business Machines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IBM. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 20,324.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,715,636 shares of the technology company's stock worth $600,373,000 after buying an additional 2,702,340 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of International Business Machines in the third quarter valued at about $573,306,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,671,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,307,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,803 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 306.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,401,798 shares of the technology company's stock worth $242,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in International Business Machines by 587.1% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 628,213 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $134,262,000 after purchasing an additional 536,785 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,463,928. This represents a 12.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. International Business Machines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.23%.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.