IBM vs PLTR vs GOOGL Stock Comparison

International Business Machines, Palantir Technologies and Alphabet Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GOOGL Alphabet Inc.
$280.03 -18.5% 1M -1.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.52T
P/E
15.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$471.10B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Alphabet leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Alphabet 7, Palantir Technologies 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIBMPLTRGOOGLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $240.48B $409.45B $3.52T GOOGL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 111.6x 15.0x GOOGL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.0x 105.7x 13.3x GOOGL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.8% +87.1% +22.2% PLTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.0% 50.3% 49.9% PLTR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.5% — 16.7% GOOGL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — -0.8x GOOGL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.0% -15.3% -1.3% GOOGL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.6%/yr +46.0%/yr +13.6%/yr PLTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.8% 59.5% 34.0% GOOGL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 69/100 57/100 PLTR

Percentile Scorecard

IBMPLTRGOOGL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisIBMPLTRGOOGL
Valuation 78 #9 of 38 22 #78 of 100 39 #101 of 166
Growth 40 #22 of 36 100 #1 of 99 68 #50 of 154
Profitability 91 #4 of 34 97 #4 of 96 82 #28 of 154
Financial Health 38 #24 of 38 98 #3 of 112 73 #50 of 179
Shareholder Returns 71 #7 of 22 26 #50 of 67 22 #76 of 97
Overall 64 69 57
  • IBM ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • PLTR ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • GOOGL ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodIBMPLTRGOOGLSPY
1 month +12.2%-7.1%-18.5% -2.0%
3 months +6.3%+7.8%-25.8% -2.2%
6 months +9.1%+29.1%-27.9% +4.2%
Year to date -15.7%-1.3%-10.5% +10.6%
1 year -18.0%-15.3%-1.3% +10.4%
3 years +68.9%+828.5%+116.9% +73.6%
3 years, per year +19.1%+110.3%+29.5% +20.2%
5 years +106.7%+562.6%+88.9% +61.6%
5 years, per year +15.6%+46.0%+13.6% +10.1%
10 years +71.5%—+616.0% +261.3%
10 years, per year +5.5%—+21.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIBMPLTRGOOGLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.8%59.5%34.0% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 59.7%55.9%34.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.821.991.40 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.36-0.26-0.04 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -37.4%-77.6%-44.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.1%-16.1%-30.4% -3.2%
52-week high $329.23$209.05$402.62 $779.14
52-week low $205.96$107.27$273.50 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleIBMPLTRGOOGL
P/E now vs peer median 21.1xmedian 27.1x 115.0xmedian 27.1x 14.5xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 4.1x 58.0xmedian 2.8x 7.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 21.7x 122.8xmedian 16.6x 17.8xmedian 15.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 16.1x 104.2xmedian 15.7x 173.8xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 3.4x 37.2xmedian 2.8x 5.1xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.32median 0.37 0.63median 0.87 0.25median 0.37

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsIBMPLTRGOOGL
Revenue $69.87B $7.29B $471.10B
Gross profit $40.50B $6.18B $286.70B
Operating income $11.30B $3.33B $156.98B
Net income $11.17B $3.69B $235.69B
Free cash flow $14.66B $4.05B $19.75B
R&D $9.05B $716.77M $74.46B
EPS (diluted) $11.72 $1.43 $19.12
Cash & equivalents $9.23B $3.62B $56.33B
Total debt $63.82B – $125.10B
Shares (diluted) 953.52M 2.57B 12.31B
Enterprise value $195.09B $374.28B $3.26T

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricIBMPLTRGOOGL
P/E 21.1x 115.0x 14.5x
P/FCF 16.1x 104.2x 173.8x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 103.1x 19.1x
P/S 3.4x 58.0x 7.3x
P/B 6.5x 37.2x 5.1x
P/Tangible book 10.4x 37.2x 5.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x 122.8x 17.8x
EV/EBIT 25.6x 123.9x 21.0x
EV/Revenue 4.1x 56.5x 7.0x
EV/FCF 19.7x 101.6x 166.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.2x 100.6x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.32 0.63 0.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIBMPLTRGOOGL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.8% 87.1% 22.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 50.8% 16.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.1% 96.2% 25.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 53.8% 20.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.9% 291.5% 26.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.9% 350.6% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 41.3% 235.3% 89.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 189.8% 52.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 40.6% 234.6% 87.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 16.0% 182.3% 57.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.4% 125.4% 18.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 103.0% 19.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 17.5% 126.0% -73.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 104.4% -36.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIBMPLTRGOOGL
Gross margin 58.0% 84.7% 60.9%
EBITDA margin 23.8% 46.0% 39.3%
Operating margin 16.2% 45.6% 33.3%
Pretax margin 15.0% 51.3% 61.1%
Net margin 16.0% 50.3% 49.9%
FCF margin 21.0% 55.6% 4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 22.7% 56.2% 38.1%
Return on equity 31.6% 34.7% 35.8%
Return on assets 7.3% 29.4% 24.5%
Return on invested capital 11.5% – 16.7%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 30.9% 19.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.1x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% 13.5% 6.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIBMPLTRGOOGL
Debt / assets 41.2% – 12.5%
Debt / equity 1.8x – 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – -0.8x
Debt / FCF 4.4x – 6.3x
Liabilities / assets 76.6% 15.4% 32.5%
Equity / assets 23.4% 84.6% 67.5%
Interest coverage 5.9x – –
Current ratio 0.9x 7.1x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 6.9x 2.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 5.9x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 3.26 124.90 8.32

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIBMPLTRGOOGL
Dividend yield 2.7% – 0.3%
Net buyback yield -0.3% 0.0% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 0.0% 0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 56.7% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 43.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.7% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusIBMPLTRGOOGL
Forward P/E 19.0xFY2026 105.7xFY2026 13.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $13.14FY2026 $1.66FY2026 $21.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.4%FY2026 +121.3%FY2026 +95.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -1.8% +47.0% -31.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $66.37BFY2026 $8.41BFY2026 $528.22BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.7%FY2026 +87.8%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.8% +37.8% +21.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIBMPLTRGOOGL
Held by institutions 65.1% 60.3% 70.1%
Institutions holding 3,639 2,841 5,746
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +10.9% +4.6%
Institutions buying 1,976 1,482 2,659
Institutions selling 1,228 1,096 2,576
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.35 1.03

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

IBMPLTRGOOGL
IBM 1.00 0.27 0.02
PLTR 0.27 1.00 0.22
GOOGL 0.02 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IBM, PLTR and GOOGL?

Alphabet (GOOGL) is the largest by market capitalisation: International Business Machines (IBM) $240.48B, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $409.45B, Alphabet (GOOGL) $3.52T.

Which stock is cheaper, IBM, PLTR and GOOGL?

Alphabet (GOOGL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (International Business Machines (IBM) 21.5x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 111.6x, Alphabet (GOOGL) 15.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Alphabet (GOOGL) is cheapest (International Business Machines (IBM) 19.0x, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 105.7x, Alphabet (GOOGL) 13.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: International Business Machines (IBM) +6.8%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +87.1%, Alphabet (GOOGL) +22.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has the highest net margin (International Business Machines (IBM) 16.0%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 50.3%, Alphabet (GOOGL) 49.9%). On return on invested capital, Alphabet (GOOGL) leads (International Business Machines (IBM) 11.5%, Alphabet (GOOGL) 16.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alphabet (GOOGL) returned the most: International Business Machines (IBM) -18.0%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) -15.3%, Alphabet (GOOGL) -1.3%. Over five years, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) compounded fastest (International Business Machines (IBM) +15.6%/yr, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +46.0%/yr, Alphabet (GOOGL) +13.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: International Business Machines (IBM) 0.03%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 0.00%, Alphabet (GOOGL) 0.00%. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and Alphabet (GOOGL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Alphabet (GOOGL) has been the steadiest (International Business Machines (IBM) 50.8%, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 59.5%, Alphabet (GOOGL) 34.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IBM, PLTR and GOOGL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alphabet (GOOGL) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.