International Business Machines (IBM) Competitors

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) and Accenture (NYSE:ACN) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, community ranking, institutional ownership, media sentiment and risk.

Does the media favor IBM or ACN?

In the previous week, Accenture had 5 more articles in the media than International Business Machines. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Accenture and 43 mentions for International Business Machines. Accenture's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat International Business Machines' score of 1.31 indicating that Accenture is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
International Business Machines	34 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Accenture	40 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, IBM or ACN?

International Business Machines has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Accenture has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is IBM or ACN a better dividend stock?

International Business Machines pays an annual dividend of $6.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Accenture pays an annual dividend of $5.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. International Business Machines pays out 97.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Accenture pays out 51.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. International Business Machines has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years and Accenture has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. International Business Machines is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is IBM or ACN more profitable?

Accenture has a net margin of 11.20% compared to International Business Machines' net margin of 10.22%. International Business Machines' return on equity of 40.52% beat Accenture's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Business Machines	10.22%	40.52%	7.09%
Accenture	11.20%	26.83%	14.27%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer IBM or ACN?

Accenture received 65 more outperform votes than International Business Machines when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.89% of users gave Accenture an outperform vote while only 58.57% of users gave International Business Machines an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
International Business Machines	Outperform Votes 1121 58.57%	Underperform Votes 793 41.43%
Accenture	Outperform Votes 1186 69.89%	Underperform Votes 511 30.11%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in IBM or ACN?

59.0% of International Business Machines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Accenture shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of International Business Machines shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Accenture shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts rate IBM or ACN?

International Business Machines currently has a consensus price target of $208.12, suggesting a potential downside of 8.48%. Accenture has a consensus price target of $368.23, suggesting a potential upside of 1.62%. Given Accenture's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Accenture is more favorable than International Business Machines.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Business Machines	3 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.18
Accenture	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, IBM or ACN?

International Business Machines has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Accenture. Accenture is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Business Machines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Business Machines	$61.86B	3.40	$7.50B	$6.87	33.10
Accenture	$64.90B	3.49	$7.26B	$11.43	31.70

Summary

Accenture beats International Business Machines on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.