International Business Machines Corporation: Beat — EPS $2.95, Revenue $17.1B
Earnings BeatQ3 2026 · After-market
@trystockwhiz
Did International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) beat earnings today?
Yes, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) beat Wall Street analyst expectations for Q3 2026, reporting higher-than-expected EPS and higher-than-expected revenue.
Earnings Per Share+2.79% surprise
$2.95Actual
Expected: $2.87
vs. year ago +11.3%
Total Revenue+1.54% surprise
$17.1BActual
Expected: $16.84B
vs. year ago +4.7%
Released Oct 21 · 4:08 PM ET
Earning Report
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | YoY Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $17.10B | $16.33B | +5.0 |
| Revenue detail — reported lines | |||
| └─Software | $7.80B | $7.21B | +8.0 |
| └─Consulting | $5.33B | $5.32B | +0.2 |
| └─Infrastructure | $3.71B | $3.56B | +4.2 |
| └─Financing | $192.00M | $200.00M | -3.9 |
| └─Other | $66.00M | $38.00M | +73.7 |
| Net Income | $2.19B | $1.74B | +25.6 |
| GAAP Diluted EPS | $2.30 | $1.84 | +25.0 |
| GAAP Basic EPS | $2.32 | $1.87 | +24.1 |
| Operating Diluted EPS | $2.95 | $2.65 | +11.0 |
Financial Outlook / Guidance
| Metric | Next Quarter Outlook | FY 2026 Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | — | 4-5% constant currency |
| Free cash flow | — | >$1B YoY |
Business Highlights
- ➤Clients are deploying Super Intelligence to transform entire operating models.
- ➤IBM technology and expertise support faster, more precise and efficient client operations.
- ➤IBM invested $11.4B in acquisitions year to date.
- ➤IBM declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.69 per common share.
- ➤IBM returned $1.6B to shareholders through third-quarter dividends.
- ➤December 2026 payment will extend IBM's consecutive quarterly dividend history since 1916.
- ➤Hybrid Cloud (Red Hat) grew 11 percent.
- ➤Data grew 19 percent, including 20 percent at constant currency.
- ➤Distributed Infrastructure grew 31 percent, including 32 percent at constant currency.
Management Commentary
Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer
“Disciplined execution throughout the quarter drove accelerated revenue growth and strong free cash flow. Our clients are now deploying Super Intelligence in ways that transform entire operating models, instead of simply addressing narrow or novel problems. IBM's technology and expertise are helping organizations drive growth and serve customers with greater speed, precision and efficiency than ever before.”
Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer
“For the full year, we continue to expect constant currency revenue growth in the range of four-to-five percent, and we now expect free cash flow to increase by more than $1 billion year-over-year.”
James Kavanaugh, IBM senior vice president and chief financial officer
“Demand across our portfolio combined with strong operational execution led to accelerated growth and solid operating pre-tax margin expansion in the quarter.”
James Kavanaugh, IBM senior vice president and chief financial officer
“Just as we are helping clients extract value from their operations with Super Intelligence, we are driving tangible returns through our productivity initiatives inside IBM. This approach fuels profit and free cash flow growth and enables us to continue to invest in our business while returning value to shareholders through our dividend.”