Benzinga | Oct 19, 2021 10:13AM EDT

IBM's Earnings Outlook

IBM(NYSE:IBM) is set to give its latest quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, 2021-10-20. Here's what investors need to know before the announcement.

Analysts estimate that IBM will likely report an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.5

IBM bulls will hope to hear the company to announce they've not only beaten that estimate, but also to provide positive guidance, or forecasted growth, for the next quarter.

New investors should note that it is sometimes not an earnings beat or miss that most affects the price of a stock, but the guidance (or forecast).

Historical Earnings Performance

Last quarter the company beat on EPS by $1.75, which was followed by a 1.49 increase in the share price the next day.

Here's a look at IBM's past performance and the resulting price change:

Quarter Q2 2021 Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q3 2020EPS Estimate 2.29 1.63 1.79 2.58EPS Actual 2.33 1.77 2.07 2.58Revenue Estimate 18.29B 17.34B 20.67B 17.54BRevenue Actual 18.75B 17.73B 20.37B 17.56B

Stock Performance

Shares of IBM were trading at $142.32 as of October 18. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 22.53%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

To track all upcoming earnings announcements, click here to use Benzinga Earnings Calendar.