ARM
Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares
ARM has a slight edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ARM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ARM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
IBM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
IBM's profitability and cash flow are currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
ARM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 167x | $147 | -27% |
| Fair | 224x | $197 | -1.4% |
| Current | 227x | $200 | — |
| Expensive | 361x | $317 | +59% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ARM has the edge over IBM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
IBM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $194 | -21% |
| Forward | 19x | $245 | — |
| Current | 21x | $245 | — |
| Fair | 23x | $274 | +12% |
| Expensive | 46x | $538 | +120% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IBM's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
ARM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
ARM has the edge over IBM on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
IBM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect IBM's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
ARM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.88 | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.98 | +48% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.85 | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.75 | -1.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.78 | +30% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.75 | +159% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.76 | +850% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.60 | +233% |
ARM earned $0.88 per share over the past year, up 13% from the year before.
IBM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.06 | +11% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.75 | +40% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.29 | +83% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.33 | +94% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.17 | +74% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.38 | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.18 | -32% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.83 | -34% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.43 | -21% |
IBM has the edge over ARM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ARM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | +27% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $983M | +19% |
ARM has the edge over IBM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.1% | -3.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -2.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +6.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | -8.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 33% | +31 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | +1.5 points |
ARM's operating margin was 14% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
IBM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $17.1B | +4.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.2B | +1.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.9B | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.7B | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $16.3B | +9.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $17B | +7.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.5B | +0.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.6B | +1% |
IBM's revenue has grown year over year for 13 quarters in a row: $17.1B last quarter, up 4.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.7% | +0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +20 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -2.8 points |
IBM has the edge over ARM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ARM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $135M | -69% |
| Q2 2026 | $705M | +296% |
| Q1 2026 | $186M | +1.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $186M | -48% |
| Q3 2025 | $429M | +$476M |
| Q2 2025 | $178M | +$497M |
| Q1 2025 | $184M | -72% |
| Q4 2024 | $360M | +25% |
ARM generated $1.2B in free cash flow over the past year, up 5.3% from the year before.
IBM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.4B | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.9B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.7B | -9.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.1B | +5% |
| Q4 2024 | $4B | -3.3% |
IBM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $14.7B over the past year, up 18% from the year before.
ARM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +10M shares |
| 3 years | +5.2% | +53.7M shares |
ARM has 1.1B diluted shares, up 0.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
IBM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +260K shares |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +4.6M shares |
| 3 years | +3.2% | +29.9M shares |
| 5 years | +5.3% | +47.6M shares |
| Available history | +2.1% | +19.6M shares |
IBM has the edge over ARM on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
ARM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
ARM has more cash than debt.
IBM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.0x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.5x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.6x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.4x | High |
IBM's net debt is about 3.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.2 years a year ago.
ARM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.0 | Oversold |
ARM's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
IBM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.8 | Neutral |
IBM's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
ARM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ARM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 227x | 28x | 715% above |
| PE % | 51 | 23 | 28 pts above |
ARM is trading at 227x earnings, a 715% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
IBM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | IBM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 28x | 25% below |
| PE % | 31 | 35 | 4 pts below |
IBM has the edge over ARM on valuation relative to its sector.
ARM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $237.8 | 16% below |
| 20 week MA | $257.3 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $213.9 | 6.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $176.5 | 13% above |
IBM has stronger trend alignment. ARM is above 1 of 4 weekly averages versus IBM above 3 of 5.
IBM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $238.6 | 2.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $239.3 | 2.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $256.6 | 4.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $258.5 | 5.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $212.3 | 15% above |
IBM's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 15% above its 200-week average.
ARM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $60.8 | $75.2 | +24% |
| 2024 | $75.2 | $129.2 | +72% |
| 2025 | $129.2 | $110.3 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.3 | $199.8 | +81% |
ARM has the edge over IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
IBM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $129.3 | $119.2 | -7.8% |
| 2021 | $119.2 | $130.6 | +9.6% |
| 2022 | $130.6 | $141.7 | +8.4% |
| 2023 | $141.7 | $163.6 | +15% |
| 2024 | $163.6 | $222.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $222.8 | $305.1 | +37% |
| 2026 YTD | $305.1 | $244.7 | -20% |
IBM has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 20% so far in 2026.