More Great News for IBM Heading Into 2026. Is It a Buy Now?

Core Insights - IBM's partnership with AMD is set to accelerate the commercialization of its quantum computing technologies, allowing integration into existing data centers without significant new hardware investments [1][3] - The global quantum computing market is projected to grow from $3.5 billion in 2025 to $20.2 billion in 2030, driven by the combination of quantum computing, high-performance computing, and AI [2] - IBM's recent earnings report showed a 7% year-over-year revenue increase to $16.3 billion, marking the fastest growth in several years, with an improved non-GAAP operating margin of 18.6% [5][4] Quantum Computing Developments - IBM is developing quantum-centric supercomputing architectures in collaboration with AMD, which will enable its quantum stack to operate on AMD's CPUs and GPUs, bridging traditional and quantum computing [3] - The company aims to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029, potentially unlocking new revenue streams from this emerging business [1] Financial Performance - IBM's management anticipates a 5% year-over-year revenue increase on a constant currency basis, with free cash flow expected to rise to $14 billion in fiscal 2025 [4] - The company's automation revenue increased by 22% year-over-year, while IBM Z (mainframe) revenue surged by 59% in Q3, indicating strong performance in core software and hybrid infrastructure [10] AI and Digital Asset Initiatives - IBM's AI business is gaining momentum, with a contracted backlog of $9.5 billion, including $1.5 billion for new AI-related consulting work [9] - The launch of IBM's Digital Asset Haven platform positions the company to compete with major cloud service providers in managing digital assets, with the market for tokenization of global illiquid assets expected to grow from $3.1 trillion in 2025 to $16.1 trillion in 2030 [7][8] Valuation and Future Outlook - IBM shares are currently trading at 25.8 times forward earnings, supported by reaccelerating revenue growth and improving margins [12] - Analysts project adjusted earnings per share to grow from $11.36 in fiscal 2025 to $12.08 in fiscal 2026, with a potential forward P/E range of 28 to 30 by the end of 2026 [13][14] - The company is expected to achieve $4.5 billion in annual savings by 2025 through AI and automation, which can be reinvested for growth [11]