IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
IBM has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
TSM has the edge over IBM overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
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.
TSM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Unavailable | |
| Unavailable | |
| Unavailable | |
| Strong |
TSM's balance sheet is currently strong. There isn't enough data to rate its revenue, profitability and cash flow.
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.
TSM PE Valuation
TSM has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
TSM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
TSM 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.
TSM Earnings Per Share
TSM and IBM do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
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.
TSM Quarterly Revenue
TSM and IBM do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 59% | +8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 60% | +11 points |
| Q1 2026 | 58% | +9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 54% | +5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 51% | +3.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 50% | +7.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 49% | +6.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 49% | +7.4 points |
TSM 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.
TSM Free Cash Flow
TSM and IBM do not have enough comparable growth data to identify a winner.
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 | — |
TSM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +45.8K shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +391K shares |
| 3 years | 0% | +528K shares |
| 5 years | 0% | +324K shares |
| Available history | 0% | +324K shares |
TSM has the edge over IBM on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
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.
TSM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
TSM 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).
TSM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 28.9 | Neutral |
TSM's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 29 (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 TSM on valuation relative to its sector.
TSM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | TSM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 3.3% below |
| PE % | 45 | 35 | 10 pts above |
TSM has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
TSM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $424.4 | 4.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $422.4 | 4% below |
| 50 week MA | $386.5 | 4.9% above |
| 100 week MA | $304.5 | 33% above |
| 200 week MA | $215.6 | 88% above |
TSM has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 88% 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.
TSM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $58.5 | $106.0 | +81% |
| 2021 | $106.0 | $120.7 | +14% |
| 2022 | $120.7 | $74.9 | -38% |
| 2023 | $74.9 | $104.0 | +39% |
| 2024 | $104.0 | $201.6 | +94% |
| 2025 | $201.6 | $302.8 | +50% |
| 2026 YTD | $302.8 | $405.5 | +34% |
TSM has the edge over IBM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.