What happened with IBM today?
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IBM serves businesses and government agencies that need to update applications, manage data and keep critical operations running. It helps clients connect their own computing systems with cloud services—an approach called hybrid cloud—and apply artificial intelligence to their work. Software and Consulting together bring in most of its revenue.
Clients pay for software licenses, subscriptions and support, including Red Hat products for running applications across different computing environments. They also hire IBM to design and implement changes, modernize applications and data, and manage systems or business processes. IBM combines its own technology with partners’ solutions, including those from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and SAP. Its Infrastructure business also sells systems such as IBM Z and provides cloud infrastructure and maintenance for critical workloads.
Delivering this work depends on skilled employees and an ecosystem of technology and sales partners. IBM serves a broad customer base, with no single client supplying a large share of revenue. Its systems handle sensitive and regulated data, so data-protection requirements shape how it delivers services, including where data can reside and how it moves across borders.
The risk section is the longest, dullest part of the filing. This keeps only what can really hurt you: where it hits, how hard, when it plays out.
Every company claims an edge. Each one is checked against hard numbers like margins and returns: which hold, and which line gives way first.
Oracle competes for the large organizations buying IBM’s cloud platforms, data-management software and infrastructure. Oracle’s cloud and software business is the part to watch for spending on those overlapping offerings.
Accenture competes with IBM Consulting for clients paying to transform their businesses, implement technology and run ongoing operations. Its Consulting and Managed Services results offer a view of the budgets IBM is pursuing for application modernization and outsourced operations.
Microsoft competes with IBM for enterprise spending on cloud platforms, AI tools and software that runs and manages servers. Watch its Intelligent Cloud business rather than its PCs or games for the closer read on IBM’s market.
Broadcom competes for enterprise software budgets that also fund IBM’s hybrid-cloud and transaction-processing products. Its private-cloud, mainframe and enterprise software portfolios—not its chips—are the relevant businesses to follow.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise competes with IBM for customers buying hybrid-cloud systems, storage, infrastructure software and support. Its Alletra MP storage and HPE Private Cloud AI systems show where its offerings overlap with IBM’s infrastructure for critical transactions and AI workloads.
Infosys competes with IBM Consulting for enterprise clients paying to implement and modernize applications, manage cloud systems and operate business processes. Demand for its application modernization services is a useful check on the same work IBM sells.
Cognizant competes with IBM Consulting for clients paying to connect systems, maintain applications, modernize technology and run business processes. Its application maintenance and business-process services are the closest areas to watch for recurring outsourced work.
Dell Technologies competes with IBM for enterprise server, storage, deployment and support purchases. Dell separately reports AI-optimized servers, traditional servers and networking, and storage revenue, letting investors distinguish AI infrastructure demand from other hardware spending.
Amazon’s AWS both competes with IBM in cloud infrastructure and enterprise software and partners with IBM to deliver client solutions. AWS results are the relevant part of Amazon to watch for enterprise cloud spending, rather than its retail businesses.
SAP competes with IBM in software for enterprise applications and business processes, while also partnering on client transformations. Its cloud subscription revenue and work to embed AI across applications are the areas to watch for customers’ modernization spending.
ServiceNow competes with IBM for enterprise purchases of software that manages technology operations and automates workflows with AI. Watch adoption of its AI-enhanced workflows, which it says customers can deploy without replacing existing technology.
CGI competes with IBM Consulting for clients paying to design, implement and operate technology and business processes. Its services that take over all or part of a client’s IT functions are the clearest comparison with IBM’s managed-services work.
Wipro competes with IBM Consulting for clients buying application modernization, infrastructure services, consulting and business-process operations. Its Technology Services and Business Process Services businesses are the areas to follow for outsourced IT and operating work.
DXC Technology competes with IBM Consulting for enterprise consulting, application solutions, data analytics and technology modernization work. Its Consulting & Engineering Services results provide the closest comparison for clients paying to modernize processes and automate work.
NetApp competes with IBM for enterprise storage systems, storage software and support purchases. Its Hybrid Cloud business and ONTAP data-management software are the closest comparison for customers storing data across their own facilities and clouds.
Everpure competes with IBM for enterprise storage systems, hybrid-cloud storage software and related services. Its FlashArray and FlashBlade purchases provide a concrete view of demand for storage serving critical business workloads, analytics and AI.
Cisco’s Splunk and software for tracking how systems perform compete with IBM’s enterprise IT operations and data-analysis software. Cisco’s Observability offerings—not its broader networking hardware business—are the relevant products to follow.
Alphabet’s Google Cloud competes with IBM for enterprise cloud and AI software spending. Follow Google Cloud separately: advertising drives much of Alphabet’s business and is a less direct comparison with IBM’s enterprise customers.
Salesforce competes with IBM for businesses buying workflow, data and AI-agent software, selling its services mainly through subscriptions. Adoption of its Agentforce 360 platform is the concrete area to watch for demand for integrated workflows and AI agents.
Datadog competes with IBM’s IT operations software by selling customers tools to monitor infrastructure and understand how applications perform. Its infrastructure monitoring products are the closest comparison, particularly where customers also consider IBM for monitoring on-premises systems.
International Business Machines Corporation earningsThis company
IBM’s report will show whether software sales keep growing and Consulting gains ground, revealing whether growth comes from software, client work, or both.
Read Software and Consulting revenue growth together, alongside each segment’s profit margin. Continued software growth with recovering Consulting revenue and steady margins would show both products and client work contributing; slower software growth with Consulting still near flat or margins weakening would leave growth more dependent on software, with little evidence of a services rebound.
SAP SE earningsSAP
SAP’s report will show whether businesses keep paying for cloud business-process software, revealing demand for modernization work IBM also pursues and where software budgets are going.
Watch the change in SAP’s cloud subscription revenue. Growth would suggest that businesses are still modernizing their processes, supporting the pool of work IBM pursues while SAP competes for software budgets; weakness could mean clients are delaying or trimming projects, leaving a smaller pool for IBM as well.
Infosys Limited earningsINFY
Infosys’s report will show whether businesses keep paying for application modernization, work that Infosys and IBM Consulting both compete to deliver.
Watch Infosys’s technology-services revenue and what it says about demand for application modernization. Stronger revenue with steady project demand would suggest clients are still upgrading systems, supporting demand for IBM Consulting; weaker revenue could mean delayed projects or tighter budgets, limiting the room for IBM to win similar work.
Microsoft Corp earningsMSFT
Microsoft’s report will show whether businesses are still spending on cloud platforms and related software, budgets that Microsoft and IBM both compete to win.
Watch revenue growth in Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud business and its related commentary. Stronger growth would indicate active enterprise spending on cloud platforms and software, though Microsoft competes for that spending; a slowdown could point to tighter budgets and less support for demand in IBM’s market.
SERVICENOW, INC. earningsNOW
ServiceNow’s report will show whether businesses are adopting its AI-enabled workflow and IT-operations software, a budget area where it competes with IBM.
Watch ServiceNow’s software revenue and what it says about adoption of AI-enabled workflows. Revenue growth alongside signs of broader adoption would show that businesses are paying for automation and IT-operations software, a market IBM also serves; weaker revenue or adoption would point to more cautious purchasing.
Dell Technologies Inc. earningsDELL
Dell’s report separates AI-optimized servers, traditional servers and storage, showing whether infrastructure buying is broad or concentrated in AI systems—areas where Dell competes with IBM.
Separate revenue trends for Dell’s AI-optimized servers, traditional servers and storage. Strength across all three would point to broad infrastructure buying relevant to IBM’s server and storage business; if growth is concentrated in AI-optimized servers while traditional servers and storage lag, the signal is narrower and does not show that demand for all IBM infrastructure is improving.
NetApp, Inc earningsNTAP
NetApp’s report will show demand for hybrid-cloud storage and data-management software, purchases that overlap with IBM’s storage business.
Watch revenue trends in NetApp’s Hybrid Cloud business and its commentary on ONTAP data-management software. Strength would suggest customers are still buying storage for use across their own facilities and cloud environments, a supportive signal for the market IBM serves; weakness could mean customers are delaying or trimming storage purchases.
Broadcom Inc. earningsAVGO
Broadcom’s private-cloud and mainframe software results will show whether large organizations keep paying for infrastructure software that competes with IBM’s.
Focus on Broadcom’s enterprise-software results and commentary for private-cloud and mainframe products, not its chips. Resilience or growth would show that large organizations are still paying for this infrastructure software, though Broadcom competes for budgets IBM also seeks; weakness could point to cuts or delays in that spending.
