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Why IBM (IBM) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

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IBM (IBM - Free Report) closed at $220.50 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.29% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.15%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.15%.

The technology and consulting company's stock has climbed by 11.02% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.02% and the S&P 500's gain of 2%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of IBM in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on October 23, 2024. On that day, IBM is projected to report earnings of $2.25 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 2.27%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $15.12 billion, indicating a 2.5% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $10.10 per share and a revenue of $63.25 billion, demonstrating changes of +4.99% and +2.25%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for IBM. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Currently, IBM is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, IBM is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 21.55. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 21.25, which means IBM is trading at a premium to the group.

We can additionally observe that IBM currently boasts a PEG ratio of 4.84. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Computer - Integrated Systems industry stood at 3.93 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Computer - Integrated Systems industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 206, putting it in the bottom 19% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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