IBM Stock Drops 4% as Accenture’s Warning Hits IT Sector

TLDR

• IBM stock dropped over 4% in premarket Thursday after Accenture cut its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance
• Accenture narrowed its full-year sales range to $71.76B–$72.46B, down from the top end of $73.16B
• Accenture’s Q3 EPS of $3.80 beat estimates, but quarterly revenue of $18.7B missed the $18.745B consensus
• GF Value pegs IBM at roughly 9.9% overvalued at $262.35, with a GF Score of 78/100
• IBM reports its own Q2 earnings on July 22; analysts expect EPS of $3.00 and revenue of $17.85B

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IBM stock fell sharply on Thursday after Accenture cut the top end of its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance, dragging down the broader IT services sector with it.

International Business Machines Corporation, IBM

IBM was trading at $251.01 in premarket, down 4.32% on the day. By the prior close on June 17, the stock had already slipped 3.1% to $262.35.

The selloff wasn’t triggered by anything IBM did. It was Accenture’s updated outlook that spooked the market.

Accenture narrowed its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $71.763 billion to $72.460 billion. That’s a cut from the previous upper end of $73.157 billion. Wall Street had been expecting $74.006 billion for the year.

The guidance trim is the kind of thing that sends a ripple across sector peers — and IBM felt it.

On the earnings side, Accenture actually beat on the bottom line. Q3 diluted EPS came in at $3.80, above the $3.69 estimate. But quarterly revenue of $18.700 billion just missed the $18.745 billion consensus, and the outlook revision did the damage.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet pointed to strong AI demand, noting 104 quarterly client bookings of $100 million or more year-to-date, up 13%. The company also announced plans to acquire a majority stake in Dragos along with all of runZero and NetRise, targeting the OT cybersecurity market.

IBM Heads Into Q2 Earnings on July 22

IBM’s own earnings report lands July 22. Analysts are looking for EPS of $3.00 and revenue of $17.85 billion for Q2.

In Q1, IBM posted EPS of $1.91, beating the $1.81 estimate. Revenue came in at $15.92 billion, above the $15.66 billion consensus. That marked eight consecutive quarters of beating EPS expectations — a streak the market will be watching to see if it continues.

What the Valuation Picture Looks Like

GuruFocus puts IBM’s GF Value at $238.63, meaning the stock was trading at roughly a 9.9% premium to that fair value estimate at $262.35.

IBM’s current P/E of 23.2x sits slightly below its five-year median of 24.4x. The forward P/E comes in at 21.1x.

The GF Score of 78/100 reflects above-average performance relative to peers, with profitability the strongest component at 8/10. Financial strength sits at 5/10 and momentum at 4/10 — the latter consistent with Thursday’s move.

One thing worth noting: no insider transactions have been recorded in the past three months.

IBM’s 52-week range runs from $212.34 to $332.46, putting Thursday’s premarket price of $251.01 in the lower half of that band.

The next clear catalyst for IBM is July 22.

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