Benzinga
IBM logo on side of building

IBM Q3 Earnings Preview: Wall Street Expects 8% EPS Growth

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Oct. 21, 2026, after the market closes.

Analysts expect earnings per share of $2.86, compared with $2.65 a year earlier. Revenue is projected to reach $16.82 billion, up from $16.33 billion.

Analyst Ratings And Price Forecasts

The stock carries a Buy rating, with an average price target of $259.76. Recent analyst actions include:

  • Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight; raised its price target to $238.00 (Oct. 15).
  • RBC Capital: Outperform; maintained its price target at $270.00 (Oct. 13).
  • Truist Securities: Initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $240.00 price target (Oct. 9).

Major AI Partnerships And Product Developments

In recent months, IBM announced several partnerships, product launches and deployments aimed at expanding its AI capabilities and enterprise offerings.

  • IBM formed a strategic partnership with OpenAI to help companies deploy artificial intelligence across core business operations while strengthening cybersecurity.
  • IBM announced a self-hosted deployment option for IBM Bob, its agentic software development platform, designed to help enterprises strengthen AI sovereignty and governance.
  • The company disclosed a research collaboration with Siemens Energy AG (OTC:SMERY) to advance its next-generation nanostack semiconductor architecture, targeting AI and other emerging technologies over the coming decade.
  • IBM is also expanding its AI capabilities through a $240 million, multiyear agreement with Together AI.

IBM Edge Scorecard: Quality Strength vs Value Weakness

Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for International Business Machines, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:

  • Momentum: Neutral (Score: 37.77) — The stock’s recent push is improving, but it’s not showing sustained leadership versus the broader market.
  • Quality: Strong (Score: 81.33) — IBM screens well on quality metrics, which can help support the stock during choppier tape.
  • Value: Weak (Score: 25.29) — Valuation looks less compelling on this model, so buyers may want clearer trend confirmation before paying up.
  • Growth: Neutral (Score: 41.15) — Growth factors are middling, keeping the story more execution-driven than hyper-growth.

The Verdict: International Business Machines’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a quality-led profile with only moderate momentum and growth support. For longer-term bulls, the setup improves if price can reclaim the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, while a failure near resistance keeps the risk of a pullback toward lower support levels in play.

Top IBM ETF Exposure: TDIV, DIVB, and TDVI Weightings

  • First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (NASDAQ:TDIV): 7.98% Weight
  • iShares Core Dividend ETF (BATS:DIVB): 4.93% Weight
  • FT Vest Technology Dividend Target Income ETF (NASDAQ:TDVI): 7.58% Weight

Significance: Because IBM carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

IBM Stock Price Activity: IBM shares were down 0.67% at $240.30 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo via Shutterstock 

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.