IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
SMCI
Super Micro Computer, Inc.
SMCI 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.
SMCI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Strong |
SMCI's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently strong, but its cash flow is weak.
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.
SMCI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 4.3x | $26.99 | — |
| Current | 5.7x | $26.99 | — |
| Cheap | 13x | $61.50 | +128% |
| Fair | 19x | $88.86 | +229% |
| Expensive | 26x | $125 | +363% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SMCI 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.
SMCI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
SMCI 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 has the edge over SMCI on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
SMCI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.22 | +31% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.75 | +274% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.26 | +94% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.91 | +4.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.36 | -41% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.27 | -45% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.68 | -13% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.83 | +2.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.32 | +81% |
SMCI's earnings per share have jumped to their highest in seven years: $4.75 over the past year, up from $1.27 the year before.
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 SMCI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
SMCI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $19.9B | +298% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.1B | +93% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.2B | +123% |
| Q4 2025 | $12.7B | +123% |
| Q3 2025 | $5B | -15% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.8B | +7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.6B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.7B | +55% |
SMCI's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $19.9B last quarter, up 298% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | +6.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +9.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.1% | +2.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.7% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.6% | -5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4% | -1.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.2% | -6.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.5% | -3.7 points |
SMCI's operating margin was 10% last quarter, up 6.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 SMCI on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
SMCI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$475.6M | +$474.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $718.7M | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | -$6.7B | -1227% |
| Q4 2025 | -$45.1M | +$222.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$949.8M | -360% |
| Q2 2025 | $840.9M | +$1.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $594.1M | +$2.2B |
| Q4 2024 | -$267.3M | +$342.5M |
SMCI's free cash flow was −$6.5B over the past year, against $218M 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 SMCI on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
SMCI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +7.5% | +52M shares |
| 1 year | +13% | +86.1M shares |
| 3 years | +31% | +178M shares |
| 5 years | +42% | +220M shares |
| Available history | +44% | +229M shares |
SMCI has 749M diluted shares, up 13% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | $12M |
| Q1 2021 | $43.1M |
| Q4 2020 | $46.4M |
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.
SMCI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 0.2x | Very low |
SMCI 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).
SMCI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.1 | Oversold |
SMCI's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
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.
SMCI PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | SMCI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 5.7x | 28x | 80% below |
| PE % | 0 | 35 | 35 pts below |
SMCI 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 has the edge over SMCI on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
SMCI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $35.3 | 23% below |
| 20 week MA | $34.2 | 21% below |
| 50 week MA | $32.3 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $36.9 | 27% below |
| 200 week MA | $39.8 | 32% below |
SMCI is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 32% below 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.
SMCI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2.41 | $3.05 | +27% |
| 2021 | $3.05 | $4.27 | +40% |
| 2022 | $4.27 | $8.22 | +93% |
| 2023 | $8.22 | $28.4 | +246% |
| 2024 | $28.4 | $32.0 | +12% |
| 2025 | $32.0 | $30.6 | -4.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $30.6 | $27.0 | -12% |
SMCI has the edge over IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.