IBM is heading into its Q2 earnings report on July 22 with fresh analyst backing. Bank of America Securities raised its price target on IBM stock to $330 from $315 on July 6, while keeping a Buy rating in place. IBM was trading at $289.52 at the time, making the new target roughly 14% above current levels.
International Business Machines Corporation, IBM
The upgrade came from five-star analyst Wamsi Mohan, who attended the recent Quantum Tech World Conference. He walked away calling IBM the “leader in the quantum category.”
IBM is competing in quantum against Rigetti, IonQ, D-Wave, newly-listed Xanadu, and Alphabet’s Google. Mohan believes IBM is ahead of all of them.
He tracks IBM’s quantum progress across three metrics: programmable qubits, qubit operations, and throughput — measuring problem complexity, reliability, and processing speed respectively.
On the research side, IBM published 781 papers on ArXiv between October 2025 and April 2026. That compared to 260 for Xanadu and 231 for Google — a clear lead.
IBM isn’t just building quantum computers. It’s also helping businesses prepare for the security risks they’ll bring. Its Guardian Cryptography Manager tool helps companies find encryption systems that could be vulnerable to future quantum attacks.
Mohan noted that real-world quantum applications beyond cryptography and simulation are still limited. But IBM has given developers cloud access to its quantum hardware, helping speed up software development.
BofA projects Q2 revenue of $18.0 billion and EPS of $3.03, with a pre-tax income margin 50 basis points above prior levels. The firm expects Confluent to contribute $340 million in the quarter, accounting for around 5% of software growth.
Mohan sees Q2 as a turning point — one that sets the tone for the second half, with better software mix and early improvement in transaction processing through the z17 mainframe cycle.
BofA also expects IBM to raise its full-year 2026 guidance on both revenue and free cash flow when it reports on July 22.
IBM trades at a P/E of 25.48 and a PEG ratio of 0.27 — a figure that suggests the stock may still be reasonably priced relative to its growth outlook.
The broader analyst consensus on TipRanks sits at Moderate Buy, based on 12 Buy ratings and 5 Holds. The average price target across all analysts is $302.06, implying 4.3% upside.
IBM has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years, and recently extended the maturity dates on its $2.5 billion and $7.5 billion credit agreements by one year.
IBM also recently announced a sub-1 nanometer chip with a 0.7nm transistor node, packing nearly 100 billion transistors onto a fingernail-sized surface.
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