IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
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.
MU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
MU's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
MU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 4.6x | $798 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $777 | -2.7% |
| Current | 11x | $798 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $1,646 | +106% |
| Expensive | 32x | $2,404 | +201% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MU has the edge over IBM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
MU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
MU has the edge over IBM on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
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.
MU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $174.95 | +135% |
| Q3 2026 | $74.33 | +879% |
| Q2 2026 | $44.17 | +693% |
| Q1 2026 | $21.18 | +405% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.52 | +201% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.59 | +984% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.57 | +$6.99 |
| Q1 2025 | $4.19 | +$7.64 |
| Q4 2024 | $3.49 | +$9.77 |
MU has the edge over IBM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
MU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.2B | +379% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.5B | +346% |
| Q1 2026 | $23.9B | +196% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.6B | +57% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +46% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.3B | +37% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.1B | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.7B | +84% |
MU has the edge over IBM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 81% | +48 points |
| Q2 2026 | 80% | +57 points |
| Q1 2026 | 68% | +46 points |
| Q4 2025 | 45% | +20 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +13 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | +19 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | +49 points |
MU has the edge over IBM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
MU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $32.9B | +45543% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.6B | +951% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.5B | +$5.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | +7853% |
| Q3 2025 | $72M | -75% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +322% |
| Q1 2025 | -$113M | +$52M |
| Q4 2024 | $38M | +$433M |
MU has the edge over IBM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 MU on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
MU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | +1.6% | +18M shares |
| 3 years | +4.6% | +50M shares |
| 5 years | +0.2% | +2M shares |
| Available history | +1.2% | +14M shares |
MU has 1.1B diluted shares, up 1.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $350M |
| Q4 2025 | $300M |
| Q3 2024 | $300M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
MU has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
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.
MU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
MU has the edge over IBM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
MU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.9 | Neutral |
MU's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
IBM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | IBM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 28x | 25% below |
| PE % | 31 | 35 | 4 pts below |
IBM is trading at 21x earnings, a 25% discount to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 28x | 61% below |
| PE % | 18 | 35 | 17 pts below |
MU has the edge over IBM on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
MU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $914.5 | 13% below |
| 20 week MA | $931.0 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $685.9 | 16% above |
| 100 week MA | $405.4 | 97% above |
| 200 week MA | $246.0 | 225% above |
MU has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 225% above its 200-week average.
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.
MU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $54.0 | $70.6 | +31% |
| 2021 | $70.6 | $94.4 | +34% |
| 2022 | $94.4 | $50.2 | -47% |
| 2023 | $50.2 | $85.3 | +70% |
| 2024 | $85.3 | $88.6 | +3.9% |
| 2025 | $88.6 | $284.8 | +221% |
| 2026 YTD | $284.8 | $798.4 | +180% |
MU has the edge over IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.