INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP vs NetApp, Inc., two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
IBM is a century-old services-and-software estate financed like one, 2 turns of debt to equity and a 0.8 current ratio, run for the 2.5% dividend and the 5% free-cash yield; NetApp is a single-product storage franchise with a 70.1% gross margin and its own buyback-era balance sheet at 1.84 to equity. The market prices them at the same multiple, 24 times earnings, almost to the decimal. What the identical price buys differs: IBM's breadth, mainframes to consulting to AI software, against NetApp's focus and higher returns on assets, 11.9% to 5.5%. Two mature IT vendors, one price, two entirely different ways of earning it.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | IBM | NTAP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $271.41 | $152.40 |
| Market cap | $258.4B | $30.5B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +17.3% |
| P/E | 23.9 | 24.0 |
| P/B | 7.82 | 22.56 |
| P/S | 3.75 | 4.40 |
| EV/EBITDA | 565.7 | 17.0 |
| Revenue growth | +9.6% | +5.2% |
| Gross margin | 56.2% | 70.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 27.3% |
| Net margin | 12.5% | 18.4% |
| Return on equity | 26.1% | 94.5% |
| Return on assets | 5.5% | 11.9% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 34.0% |
| FCF yield | 5.0% | 6.1% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Debt / equity | 2.01 | 1.84 |
| Current ratio | 0.80 | 1.44 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.03 | 2.97 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 9 | 6 / 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.