CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. vs INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP, two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CSCO and IBM diverge most: on return on invested capital, CSCO reads 15.1% and IBM reads 3.6%; on debt / equity, CSCO reads 0.59 and IBM reads 1.79. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's CSCO price has a different growth bar priced in than IBM (+21.2% implied for CSCO vs +8.5% for IBM); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What CSCO's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CSCO | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $118.37 | $227.08 |
| Market cap | $471.3B | $216.5B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +21.2% | +8.5% |
| P/E | 35.5 | 20.1 |
| P/B | 9.37 | 6.27 |
| P/S | 7.44 | 3.13 |
| EV/EBITDA | 29.9 | 52.1 |
| Revenue growth | +11.7% | +8.0% |
| Gross margin | 64.1% | 57.7% |
| Operating margin | 24.7% | — |
| Net margin | 19.1% | 12.4% |
| Return on equity | 24.1% | 24.9% |
| Return on assets | 9.3% | 5.7% |
| Return on invested capital | 15.1% | 3.6% |
| FCF yield | 2.7% | 6.4% |
| Dividend yield | 1.4% | 3.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.59 | 1.79 |
| Current ratio | 0.93 | 0.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.15 | 2.94 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.