IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
TMUS
T-Mobile US, Inc.
TMUS 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.
TMUS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
TMUS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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.
TMUS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 13x | $171 | — |
| Current | 16x | $171 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $218 | +27% |
| Fair | 26x | $274 | +60% |
| Expensive | 56x | $581 | +240% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
TMUS 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.
TMUS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
TMUS 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 TMUS on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
TMUS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.49 | +30% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.37 | -0.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.56 | -9.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.41 | -8.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.72 | +0.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.39 | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.59 | +33% |
| Q1 2025 | $10.24 | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.66 | +39% |
TMUS earned $10.37 per share over the past year, about the same as 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's operating margin was 15% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
TMUS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $23.6B | +7.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $22.8B | +7.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $23.1B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $24.3B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $22B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $21.1B | +6.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.9B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.9B | +6.8% |
TMUS has the edge over IBM on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +3.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 24% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | -3.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | -3.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +4 points |
TMUS 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.
TMUS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.1B | +5.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B | +4.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B | +4.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.2B | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.8B | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.6B | +32% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.4B | +79% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.3B | +2% |
TMUS 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 954M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
TMUS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -10.8M shares |
| 1 year | -4.9% | -55M shares |
| 3 years | -8.8% | -103M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -182M shares |
| Available history | +24% | +207M shares |
TMUS has the edge over IBM on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $2.3B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $2.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $2.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $4.7B |
TMUS spent $12B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 1.7% from the year before.
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.
TMUS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
TMUS 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).
TMUS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 42.1 | Neutral |
TMUS's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 42 (neutral).
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 TMUS on valuation relative to its sector.
TMUS PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | TMUS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 16x | 16x | Same PE |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
TMUS is trading at 16x earnings, in line with the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
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 TMUS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
TMUS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $159.1 | 7.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $172.0 | 0.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $187.8 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $212.9 | 20% below |
| 200 week MA | $188.7 | 9.4% below |
TMUS has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 9.4% 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.
TMUS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $77.2 | $132.9 | +72% |
| 2021 | $132.9 | $119.9 | -9.8% |
| 2022 | $119.9 | $140.0 | +17% |
| 2023 | $140.0 | $160.3 | +15% |
| 2024 | $160.3 | $223.0 | +39% |
| 2025 | $223.0 | $201.0 | -9.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $201.0 | $171.0 | -15% |
TMUS has the edge over IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.