Investing in IBM (IBM)? Don't Miss Assessing Its International Revenue Trends

Zacks Equity Research

Tue, May 13, 2025, 7:16 AM 4 min read

Have you evaluated the performance of IBM's (IBM) international operations during the quarter that concluded in March 2025? Considering the extensive worldwide presence of this technology and consulting company, analyzing the patterns in international revenues is crucial for understanding its financial resilience and potential for growth.

In the current era of a tightly interconnected global economy, the proficiency of a company to penetrate international markets significantly influences its financial health and trajectory of growth. For investors, the key is to grasp how reliant a company is on overseas markets, as this provides insights into the durability of its earnings, its ability to exploit different economic cycles, and its overall growth capabilities.

Being present in international markets serves as a counterbalance to domestic economic challenges while offering chances to engage with more rapidly evolving economies. However, this kind of diversification introduces challenges like currency fluctuations, geopolitical uncertainties and varying market trends.

While delving into IBM's performance for the past quarter, we observed some fascinating trends in the revenue from its foreign segments that are commonly modeled and observed by analysts on Wall Street.

The recent quarter saw the company's total revenue reaching $14.54 billion, marking an improvement of 0.6% from the prior-year quarter. Next, we'll examine the breakdown of IBM's revenue from abroad to comprehend the significance of its international presence.

A Look into IBM's International Revenue Streams

Asia Pacific accounted for 19.26% of the company's total revenue during the quarter, translating to $2.8 billion. Revenues from this region represented a surprise of +2.65%, with Wall Street analysts collectively expecting $2.73 billion. When compared to the preceding quarter and the same quarter in the previous year, Asia Pacific contributed $3.2 billion (18.23%) and $2.9 billion (20.05%) to the total revenue, respectively.

Of the total revenue, $4.6 billion came from Europe, Middle East and Africa during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 31.63%. This represented a surprise of +0.14% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $4.59 billion to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $5.8 billion, or 33.04%, and $4.3 billion, or 29.73%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

Revenue Forecasts for the International Markets

For the current fiscal quarter, it is anticipated by Wall Street analysts that IBM will report a total revenue of $16.59 billion, which reflects an increase of 5.2% from the same quarter in the previous year. The revenue contributions are expected to be 18.1% from Asia Pacific ($3.01 billion) and 31.7% from Europe, Middle East and Africa ($5.26 billion).

For the full year, the company is projected to achieve a total revenue of $66.21 billion, which signifies a rise of 5.5% from the last year. The share of this revenue from various regions is expected to be: Asia Pacific at 18.3% ($12.1 billion) and Europe, Middle East and Africa at 31.4% ($20.82 billion).

Wrapping Up

Relying on global markets for revenues presents both prospects and challenges for IBM. Therefore, scrutinizing its international revenue trends is key to effectively forecasting the company's future outlook.

In an era of growing international ties and escalating geopolitical disputes, financial analysts on Wall Street pay keen attention to these developments to fine-tune their earnings estimations for businesses operating across borders. It's important to note, however, that a range of additional variables, like a company's local market status, also play a crucial role in shaping these forecasts.

Here at Zacks, we put a great deal of emphasis on a company's changing earnings outlook, as empirical research has shown that's a powerful force driving a stock's near-term price performance. Quite naturally, the correlation is positive here -- an upward revision in earnings estimates drives the stock price higher.

Our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, with its externally validated exceptional track record, harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions to serve as a dependable measure for anticipating the short-term price trends of stocks.

IBM, bearing a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is expected to mirror the broader market's movements in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Exploring Recent Trends in IBM's Stock Price

The stock has increased by 6.1% over the past month compared to the 9.1% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite. Meanwhile, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector, which includes IBM, has increased 11.9% during this time frame. Over the past three months, the company's shares have experienced a loss of 2.9% relative to the S&P 500's 3.1% decline. Throughout this period, the sector overall has witnessed a 6.8% decrease.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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