International Business Machines Corporation will report its fourth-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday, January 28. Management has indicated that revenue growth is likely to be driven by continued expansion in software and cloud services. Investors will focus on the company’s free cash flow generation and margin performance, with particular attention paid to the software segment’s operating margin, which IBM targets at 40% for the full year.

In anticipation of the results, several of the most accurate Wall Street analysts have revised their full-year earnings estimates for IBM. Goldman Sachs raised its adjusted EPS forecast to $9.15 from $9.00, citing stronger license renewals in the middleware division. JPMorgan lifted its revenue projection for the software segment by $300 million to $25.8 billion, reflecting higher demand for AI-driven automation tools. Citigroup boosted its full-year EPS estimate to $9.05 from $8.95, while UBS adjusted its free cash flow forecast upward by $500 million to $12.2 billion, emphasizing IBM’s disciplined expense management and capital allocation strategy.

Analysts expect IBM’s software segment to deliver year-over-year revenue growth of 6% to 8%, supported by new AI-infused offerings in hybrid cloud orchestration and security. Red Hat subscription renewals are forecast to grow by 10%, while IBM’s proprietary Cloud Paks suite is projected to achieve 20% growth in license bookings. With software now contributing over 50% of total revenue, a beat in this segment could provide the primary catalyst for a positive market reaction following the earnings announcement.