🔷 Big Blue’s Quantum Test: Is IBM Still an AI Sleeper Pick? 🔮📊

IBM reports Wednesday. With quantum hype, AI consulting, and that juicy dividend, can the OG tech titan still surprise the Street?

Once the king of mainframes and punch cards, IBM is now trying to reinvent itself as the silent killer of the AI infrastructure race.

On Wednesday, July 23rd, IBM will report its Q2 2025 earnings — and this ain’t just about beating EPS by a penny or two. With the stock up +50% YoY and new investors treating it like it’s NVIDIA’s introverted cousin, the stakes are much higher.

Wall Street wants to know:
Does IBM actually have a moat in this hyper-hyped AI boom? Or is this just another case of "AI-washing" a legacy business model?

Let’s break it down 👇

📊 Earnings Snapshot (Expectations):

💵 EPS: $2.38 expected (↑10% YoY)
📈 Revenue: $16.7B (↑4.5% YoY)
📦 Free Cash Flow (FCF): ~$3.3B
🧠 AI/Consulting Revenue: Key segment to watch
☁️ Red Hat hybrid cloud: In focus
📉 Risk: Margins under pressure from consulting softness
📊 Zacks Rank: #3 (Hold)

🚨 Why This Earnings Report Matters (Big Picture):

📌 IBM is a bellwether for enterprise tech adoption of AI.
While $NVDA and $AMD get all the headlines, companies like IBM are actually implementing the boring (but necessary) backend infrastructure to scale enterprise AI.

If IBM crushes this quarter? Expect it to fuel broader confidence in the “AI picks & shovels” trade.

📌 Legacy tech resurgence is a real macro theme.
From $CSCO to $ORCL, investors are pouring into old-school tech names with balance sheets, cash flows, and dividends — especially as rate cut hopes fade and cyclicals cool off. IBM fits that thesis perfectly.

📌 A miss would challenge the “AI-for-everyone” narrative.
If enterprise clients are pausing AI consulting deals or pushing out cloud projects? That could mean the C-suite hype cycle is hitting friction — and that’s market-moving.