COHR
Coherent, Inc.
COHR has the edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
COHR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
COHR's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is weak.
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.
COHR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $232 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $130 | -44% |
| Fair | 34x | $165 | -29% |
| Current | 48x | $232 | — |
| Expensive | 184x | $886 | +282% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
COHR 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.
COHR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
COHR 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.
COHR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.69 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.83 | +580% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.12 | +$4.64 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.11 | +$2.34 |
| Q4 2025 | $1.03 | +$1.44 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.71 | +$1.94 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | +$1.32 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.23 | +$2.64 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.41 | +$2.41 |
COHR has the edge over IBM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 earned $11.75 per share over the past year, up 40% from the year before.
COHR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.4B | +50% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +27% |
COHR has the edge over IBM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +18 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | +9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | +1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -4.2% | -9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.9% | +6.1 points |
COHR has the edge over IBM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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's operating margin was 15% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
COHR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$868.2M | -$810.2M |
| Q2 2026 | -$486.2M | -$485.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$383.5M | -850% |
| Q4 2025 | -$95.7M | -217% |
| Q3 2025 | -$58M | -195% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.1M | -102% |
| Q1 2025 | $51.1M | +111% |
| Q4 2024 | $81.7M | +$106M |
COHR's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$1.8B over the past year.
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 has the edge over COHR on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
COHR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.4% | +6.6M shares |
| 1 year | +5.9% | +11.3M shares |
| 3 years | +34% | +51.7M shares |
| 5 years | +74% | +86.2M shares |
| Available history | +122% | +111M shares |
COHR has 202M diluted shares, up 5.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | $1,000 |
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 COHR on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
COHR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6x | High |
COHR has the edge over IBM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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.
COHR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.5 | Oversold |
COHR's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (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).
COHR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | COHR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 48x | 28x | 72% above |
| PE % | 58 | 35 | 23 pts above |
COHR is trading at 48x earnings, a 72% 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 COHR on valuation relative to its sector.
COHR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $252.9 | 8.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $284.1 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $277.7 | 16% below |
| 100 week MA | $185.9 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $120.6 | 92% above |
COHR has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 92% above its 200-week average.
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 has the edge over COHR on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
COHR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.5 | $77.8 | +132% |
| 2021 | $77.8 | $68.0 | -13% |
| 2022 | $68.0 | $33.1 | -51% |
| 2023 | $33.1 | $43.5 | +32% |
| 2024 | $43.5 | $97.0 | +123% |
| 2025 | $97.0 | $191.7 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $191.7 | $232.1 | +21% |
COHR 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.