IBM (IBM) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

Company Performance - IBM's stock closed at $265.52, showing a +0.12% change from the previous day, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.01% [1] - Over the past month, IBM shares increased by 6.45%, lagging behind the Computer and Technology sector's 7.95% gain and outperforming the S&P 500's 5.2% increase [1] Upcoming Earnings - IBM is expected to report an EPS of$ 2.64, reflecting an 8.64% growth year-over-year, with anticipated revenue of $16.59 billion, indicating a 5.2% increase from the same quarter last year [2] Full Year Projections - For the full year, earnings are projected at$ 10.95 per share and revenue at $66.21 billion, representing increases of +6% and +5.5% respectively from the previous year [3] Analyst Estimates - Recent changes in analyst estimates for IBM indicate positive sentiment regarding the company's business and profitability, with a 0.32% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate over the past month [5][3] Valuation Metrics - IBM's Forward P/E ratio stands at 24.22, significantly higher than the industry average of 17.85, suggesting that IBM is trading at a premium [6] - The company has a PEG ratio of 5.57, compared to the industry average PEG ratio of 1.89, indicating a higher valuation relative to projected earnings growth [6] Industry Context - The Computer - Integrated Systems industry, part of the Computer and Technology sector, holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 43, placing it in the top 18% of over 250 industries [7] - The top 50% rated industries, as per the Zacks Industry Rank, tend to outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]