IBM vs ACN Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare IBM and Accenture by hybrid cloud vs consulting-led AI transformation revenue, Watson vs Accenture AI integration services, margin profiles, government IT exposure, and which enterprise services company is better positioned for AI adoption.
Use this IBM vs Accenture comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
IBM holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IBM has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-17.78% vs -47.82%), though ACN has the better forward P/E setup (9.79x vs 16.25x for IBM). On fundamentals, IBM is growing revenue faster (9.50%), while ACN maintains the higher operating margin (16.96%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for IBM (+28.72%) than for ACN (+24.77%).
| Metric | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 40.7 | 39.4 |
| AI rank | #1091 | #1215 |
| Latest close | $214.19 | $146.99 |
| 1M return | -18.55% | +13.81% |
| 6M return | -26.76% | -47.70% |
| 1Y return | -17.78% | -47.82% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.25K (-17.5%) started 2025-07-25 | $5.19K (-48.1%) started 2025-07-25 |
| 5Y ago | $22.41K (+124.1%) started 2021-07-26 | $5.18K (-48.2%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $32.94K (+229.4%) started 2016-07-25 | $17.5K (+75.0%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $199.89B | $87.86B |
| Trailing P/E | 18.84 | 11.47 |
| Forward P/E | 16.25 | 9.79 |
| Price/Sales | 3.98 | 2.96 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.74 | 1.20 |
| Analyst target | $273.75 | $179.13 |
| Target upside | +28.72% | +24.77% |
| Metric | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 9.50% | 5.60% |
| Earnings growth | 14.20% | 9.00% |
| EPS growth | +14.20% | +9.00% |
| FCF margin | +19.03% | +16.54% |
| Operating margin | 13.81% | 16.96% |
| Profit margin | 15.61% | 10.66% |
| ROIC proxy | 35.77% | 24.41% |
| Return on equity | 35.77% | 24.41% |
| Dividend yield | 3.18% | 4.54% |
| Beta | 0.68 | 1.12 |
| Debt/equity | 211.17 | 25.04 |
| Current ratio | 0.80 | 1.34 |
| Quick ratio | 0.64 | 1.21 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -17.53% | -48.09% |
| CAGR | -17.58% | -48.19% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.24 | -1.45 | |
| Max drawdown | 37.50% | 56.87% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.21% | 17.97% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.08% | 26.69% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +86.07% | -51.20% |
| CAGR | +13.23% | -13.38% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.42 | -0.46 | |
| Max drawdown | 37.50% | 68.60% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.21% | 17.97% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.08% | 26.69% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +103.98% | +50.04% |
| CAGR | +7.39% | +4.14% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.24 | 0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 40.59% | 68.60% | |
| Max daily drop | 25.21% | 17.97% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.08% | 26.69% |
| Category | IBM | ACN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | IBM | ACN |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Information Technology Services | Information Technology Services |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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