IBM Q3 Results Better Than Expected With All Three Business Lines Accelerating, RBC Says

10:59 AM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- IBM (IBM) delivered Q3 results and guidance that were better than expected, with all of its three business lines accelerating growth quarter over quarter, RBC Capital Markets said in a Wednesday note. The company reported Q3 adjusted earnings late Wednesday of $2.95 per diluted share on revenue of $17.10 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected EPS of $2.85 on revenue of $16.82 billion. The results come after a more challenging Q2, as IBM saw anticipated closed deals in the previous quarter slip into Q3, RBC analysts said. The Software business line posted the highest outperformance at 9% growth in constant currency, led by the Transaction Processing segment aided by the normalized environment, the analysts said. They noted that the $250 million deals closed from the roughly $400 million in slipped deals "disproportionately" benefited the segment. Investors continue to debate the trajectory of IBM's Mainframe segment and Software business line excluding Transaction Processing, but the analysts said they see the segments trending in the "right direction." RBC maintained the company's stock rating at outperform and price target at $270. Price: 246.14, Change: -5.32, Percent Change: -2.12