PREVIEW: IBM shares climb; Q1 EPS, rev expected to fall

Shares in tech co International Business Machines IBM.N up 1.4%, underperforming 3.5% tech sector .SPLRCT rally on Wednesday ahead of Q1 financial report due after market close

Wall St sees provider of software and consulting services reporting adj EPS of $1.40 on revenue of $14.395 bln, below EPS of $1.68 and $14.462 bln revenue in yr-aqo quarter, according to LSEG data

In the last 8 quarters IBM met or beat revenue expectations 4 times while EPS beat every time; most recent revenue miss was Q3 2024

In March Wedbush adding IBM to 'best ideas' list, to benefit from clients seeking operational efficiencies from AI; IBM beat Q4 profit estimates with biggest software rev jump in 5 years with cloud infrastructure in demand due to AI adoption

IBM last traded at $245.17 vs median PT of $262.50, per LSEG, which shows 23 analyst ratings: 5 'strong buy,' 7 'buy,' 8 'hold' and 3 'sell' recommendations

YTD shares in IBM up 11.1% vs decline of 16% for S&P 500 tech sector .SPLRCT and 6.7% fall in Dow Industrials .DJI

IBM options imply a 7% swing for the shares, in either direction, by Friday, just above the stock's 8-qtr post earnings 1-day avg move of 6%, according to Trade Alert