IB

International Business Machines Corporation stock research

Mar 31, 2025

FY2025 Q1

International Business Machines (IBM) Gross Margin — Quarter Ended Mar 31, 2025

Revenue was unchanged from the same quarter one year earlier, while gross profit increased and cost of revenue decreased, resulting in an improved gross margin. Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, revenue, gross profit, and gross margin were all lower, and cost of revenue was also lower.

Gross margin takeaway

Quarter ended Mar 31, 2025 · FY2025 Q1

Revenue was unchanged from the same quarter one year earlier, while gross profit increased and cost of revenue decreased, resulting in an improved gross margin. Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, revenue, gross profit, and gross margin were all lower, and cost of revenue was also lower.

  • Gross margin improved relative to the same quarter one year earlier, driven by a combination of higher gross profit and lower cost of revenue. The sequential decline from the prior quarter reflects a proportionally larger decrease in gross profit relative to the reduction in cost of revenue.
  • Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, gross margin weakened, as gross profit fell more sharply than cost of revenue. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, gross margin strengthened, supported by higher gross profit on flat revenue.

Gross margin snapshot

The selected quarter's reported revenue, gross profit, direct costs, and margin comparisons.

Gross margin

55.2%

Gross profit

$8.0B

Revenue

$14.5B

Cost of revenue

$6.5B

Quarter-over-quarter change

-4.2 pts

Year-over-year change

+1.7 pts

Quarterly gross margin trend

A four-quarter view of the revenue and direct-cost bridge behind gross margin.

PeriodRevenueGross profitCost of revenueGross margin
Jun 30, 2024$15.8B$8.9B$6.8B56.8%
Sep 30, 2024$15.0B$8.4B$6.5B56.3%
Dec 31, 2024$17.6B$10.4B$7.1B59.5%
Mar 31, 2025$14.5B$8.0B$6.5B55.2%

Quarterly comparisons

Compare the selected margin with the preceding quarter and the same fiscal quarter one year earlier.

Previous-quarter change

Dec 31, 2024

-4.2 pts

Year-over-year change

Mar 31, 2024

+1.7 pts

What the margin says

Filing-constrained interpretation of margin direction, comparisons, and what to monitor next.

Gross margin improved relative to the same quarter one year earlier, driven by a combination of higher gross profit and lower cost of revenue. The sequential decline from the prior quarter reflects a proportionally larger decrease in gross profit relative to the reduction in cost of revenue.

Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, gross margin weakened, as gross profit fell more sharply than cost of revenue. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, gross margin strengthened, supported by higher gross profit on flat revenue.

Monitor the trajectory of cost of revenue relative to revenue, as its decline contributed to the year-over-year margin improvement.