Analyzing International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) and TSS (NASDAQ:TSSI)

TSS (NASDAQ:TSSI) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares TSS and International Business Machines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TSS	7.44%	19.22%	8.46%
International Business Machines	15.99%	34.37%	7.63%

Volatility and Risk

TSS has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its stock price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Business Machines has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares TSS and International Business Machines”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TSS	$245.72 million	0.88	$15.12 million	$0.48	15.90
International Business Machines	$67.53 billion	3.61	$10.59 billion	$11.73	22.01

International Business Machines has higher revenue and earnings than TSS. TSS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Business Machines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

59.0% of International Business Machines shares are held by institutional investors. 16.0% of TSS shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of International Business Machines shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for TSS and International Business Machines, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TSS	0	2	1	0	2.33
International Business Machines	2	13	19	0	2.50

TSS currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 83.49%. International Business Machines has a consensus price target of $266.12, suggesting a potential upside of 3.07%. Given TSS’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe TSS is more favorable than International Business Machines.

Summary

International Business Machines beats TSS on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TSS

TSS, Inc. offers planning, design, engineering, construction management, commissioning and maintenance services. It provides these services primarily for specialized facilities such as data centers, communications rooms, call centers, laboratories, trading floors, network operations centers, medical facilities and similar environments. TSS Inc., formerly known as Fortress International Group, Inc., is based in Columbia, United States.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate. The Consulting segment focuses on skills integration for strategy, experience, technology, and operations by domain and industry. The Infrastructure segment provides on-premises and cloud based server, and storage solutions, as well as life-cycle services for hybrid cloud infrastructure deployment. The Financing segment offers client and commercial financing, facilitates IBM clients’ acquisition of hardware, software, and services. The company has a strategic partnership to various companies including hyperscalers, service providers, global system integrators, and software and hardware vendors that includes Adobe, Amazon Web services, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, Samsung Electronics and SAP, and others. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. International Business Machines Corporation was incorporated in 1911 and is headquartered in Armonk, New York.