International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Earnings Call Transcripts
International Business Machines Corporation's Latest Earnings Call - Q3 FY2026
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, IBM reported a revenue increase of 6%, driven by strong performance across its software and infrastructure segments. The company achieved diluted operating earnings per share growth of 11%, with free cash flow generation of about $8 billion year-to-date, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase. Management raised their full-year revenue growth guidance to a range of 4% to 5% and free cash flow expectations to over $1 billion, signaling confidence in sustained growth and operational efficiency.
Reported metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Free Cash Flow | $8B |
| Distributed Infrastructure Growth | 32% |
| Transaction Processing Growth | 10% |
Guidance from management
IBM expects full-year revenue growth in the range of 4% to 5% and has raised its free cash flow growth expectation to over $1 billion, reflecting confidence in sustained operational performance.
What management said
Thank you, Jim. Before we begin Q&A, I'd like to mention a couple of items. First, supplemental information is provided at the end of the presentation. And then second, as always, I'd ask you to refrain from multipart questions. Operator, let's please open it up for questions.
What analysts pressed on
Analysts expressed concerns regarding the sustainability of the recent growth in transaction processing and whether it was primarily driven by deferred deals. There were also questions about the long-term impact of AI integration on client spending and operational efficiency.
Main topics on the call
- Revenue Growth Acceleration — IBM's revenue growth accelerated to 6% in Q3 2026, exceeding the base case outlined in July. This growth was primarily driven by a 9% increase in software and a 5% increase in infrastructure revenue, indicating strong de...
- Software Performance — Software revenue grew 9%, with Red Hat contributing an 11% increase. Management noted that 'three of our four software subsegments grew revenue double digits,' showcasing robust demand and execution in the software divis...
- Infrastructure Strength — Infrastructure revenue increased by 5%, driven by a 32% growth in distributed infrastructure. This reflects strong demand for differentiated infrastructure as clients modernize their environments to support AI workloads.
- Free Cash Flow Generation — IBM generated approximately $8 billion in free cash flow year-to-date, up 8% YoY. The company highlighted that 'our free cash flow margin for the first 9 months of the year is the highest in reported history,' indicating...
Read the full International Business Machines Corporation transcript (Q3 FY2026) → Summary generated from the call transcript; every figure above is stated by management on the record.
About International Business Machines Corporation
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a publicly listed company in the IT Services industry, within the Information Technology sector. It trades on NYSE and is based in US. EarningsCalls.dev maintains a free, full-text archive of its earnings call transcripts — 127 calls on record spanning January 21, 2020 to October 21, 2026. Every transcript is split into speaker-by-speaker segments with headline metrics, free to read or available through our REST API.
Earnings Call History
EarningsCalls.dev has 127 International Business Machines Corporation earnings call transcripts on record, spanning January 21, 2020 to October 21, 2026. Based on this history, International Business Machines Corporation reports quarterly. The most recent call on file is dated October 21, 2026. The full list is below — each row opens the complete, free-to-read transcript.
- Ticker
- IBM
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Country
- US
- Sector
- Information Technology
- Industry
- IT Services
- Calls on record
- 127
- First call
- January 21, 2020
- Most recent
- October 21, 2026
- Reporting cadence
- quarterly