The Quarter in Brief
IBM reported its third quarter of 2026, the three months to September 30, after the market closed on October 21. Revenue was $17.10 billion, up 4.7% from a year earlier, or 6% at constant currency (growth with exchange-rate movements taken out). Reported earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.31, against $1.84 a year earlier. Operating earnings per share, IBM's own measure that leaves out the amortization of acquired intangible assets, other acquisition charges and some pension costs, were $2.95, up from $2.65.
Both headline figures were ahead of expectations: analysts had expected about $16.82 billion of revenue and operating earnings of about $2.86 a share, according to the consensus Investing.com reported. What set the quarter apart was Software, which grew 8% to $7.80 billion after slowing to 5% in the second quarter. In July IBM had warned that numerous large deals had failed to close on time. The company says it closed a significant portion of those deals in this quarter.