Free cash flow
International Business Machines Free cash flow increased by 35.0% to $4.94B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 19.7%, from $4.13B to $4.94B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 3.0% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $2.07B | $2.16B | $2.09B | $2.97B | $982.00M | $1.58B | $3.56B | $3.47B | $2.27B | $2.78B | $4.16B | $3.93B | $1.85B | $2.60B | $4.03B | $4.13B | $1.49B | $2.83B | $3.66B | $4.94B |
| QoQ Change | — | +4.4% | -2.8% | +41.7% | -66.9% | +61.3% | +124.5% | -2.3% | -34.5% | +22.0% | +50.0% | -5.6% | -53.0% | +40.6% | +55.2% | +2.5% | -63.9% | +89.6% | +29.4% | +35.0% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -52.4% | -26.5% | +69.8% | +17.1% | +131.6% | +75.2% | +17.1% | +13.1% | -18.8% | -6.5% | -3.3% | +5.0% | -19.2% | +8.9% | -9.2% | +19.7% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is International Business Machines's free cash flow?
- International Business Machines (IBM) reported free cash flow of $4.94B in Q1 2026.
- How has International Business Machines's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- International Business Machines's free cash flow increased by 19.7% year-over-year, from $4.13B to $4.94B.
- What is the long-term trend for International Business Machines's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), International Business Machines's free cash flow has grown at a 3.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $10.73B to $12.10B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.