GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL has a slight edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
GOOGL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
GOOGL's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
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.
GOOGL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 16x | $299 | — |
| Cheap | 20x | $378 | +27% |
| Forward | 22x | $299 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $497 | +66% |
| Expensive | 31x | $586 | +96% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GOOGL 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.
GOOGL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for GOOGL, but weaker profitability.
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.
GOOGL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.89 | -28% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.16 | +89% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.91 | +112% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.11 | +46% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.81 | +34% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.13 | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.38 | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.96 | +37% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.04 | +39% |
GOOGL 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.
GOOGL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $127.6B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $119.8B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $109.9B | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $113.8B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $102.3B | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $96.4B | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $90.2B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $96.5B | +12% |
GOOGL has the edge over IBM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +1.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 36% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -0.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 31% | -1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 32% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 34% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 32% | +4.6 points |
GOOGL 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.
GOOGL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$9.1B | -137% |
| Q2 2026 | -$5.9B | -210% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.1B | -47% |
| Q4 2025 | $24.6B | -1.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $24.5B | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.3B | -61% |
| Q1 2025 | $19B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $24.8B | +215% |
GOOGL usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$9.1B, but it generated $19.7B 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 GOOGL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
GOOGL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +59M shares |
| 1 year | +1.4% | +165M shares |
| 3 years | -1.2% | -148M shares |
| 5 years | -6.8% | -907M shares |
| Available history | -10% | -1.4B shares |
GOOGL has 12.4B diluted shares, up 1.4% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $5.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $11.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $13.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $15.1B |
| Q4 2024 | $15.6B |
GOOGL spent $5.5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 90% from the year before.
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 GOOGL on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
GOOGL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
GOOGL 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.
GOOGL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.7 | Oversold |
GOOGL's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (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).
GOOGL PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | GOOGL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | 6% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
GOOGL is trading at 16x earnings, in line with the Communication Services sector's median of 16x, though its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 GOOGL on valuation relative to its sector.
GOOGL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $320.4 | 6.8% below |
| 20 week MA | $336.1 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $334.5 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $267.8 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $204.7 | 46% above |
GOOGL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 46% 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 GOOGL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
GOOGL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $67.7 | $86.7 | +28% |
| 2021 | $86.7 | $146.9 | +69% |
| 2022 | $146.9 | $89.2 | -39% |
| 2023 | $89.2 | $139.7 | +57% |
| 2024 | $139.7 | $192.8 | +38% |
| 2025 | $192.8 | $313.5 | +63% |
| 2026 YTD | $313.5 | $298.7 | -4.7% |
GOOGL 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.