INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP vs Seagate Technology Holdings plc, two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
IBM sells continuity, a diversified estate of software, services, and mainframes that produces a 5% free-cash yield and a 2.5% dividend on 2 turns of leverage; Seagate sells storage hardware into a cycle it rides rather than steers, currently at a 32.1% operating margin. Seagate's 217% return on equity is leverage arithmetic on a buyback-thinned base, 3.5 turns of debt; the 26.7% return on assets is the honest number, and it quadruples IBM's 5.5%. The market pays 85.1 times for the cycle and 24 for the continuity. Both prices know exactly what they are buying; only one of them requires the weather to hold.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | IBM | STX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $271.41 | $896.74 |
| Market cap | $258.4B | $205.4B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 23.9 | 85.1 |
| P/B | 7.82 | 187.54 |
| P/S | 3.75 | 18.65 |
| EV/EBITDA | 565.7 | 65.5 |
| Revenue growth | +9.6% | +29.1% |
| Gross margin | 56.2% | — |
| Operating margin | — | 32.1% |
| Net margin | 12.5% | 21.6% |
| Return on equity | 26.1% | 217.2% |
| Return on assets | 5.5% | 26.7% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 54.2% |
| FCF yield | 5.0% | 1.2% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | 0.3% |
| Debt / equity | 2.01 | 3.53 |
| Current ratio | 0.80 | 1.33 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.03 | 6.66 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 5 / 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.