FedEx vs IBM: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
FedEx reported $94.7B of revenue in FY2026 and $4.4B of net income. IBM reported $67.5B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.6B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
FedEx
FedEx's FY2026 results showed steady growth on a lower cost base. Revenue rose to $94.7 billion and GAAP operating income to $5.46 billion (5.8% margin; 7.0% adjusted). The company said it beat its goal of $1 billion in transformation savings for the year, and capital spending fell 6% to $3.8 billion, or 4.0% of revenue, the lowest ratio in its history. Fourth-quarter revenue was $25.0 billion with adjusted EPS of $6.31. Spin-off costs of $2.46 per share and business optimization costs of $1.19 per share explain most of the gap between GAAP and adjusted earnings.
IBM
IBM's reported revenue fell from about $80 billion in 2016-2018 to $57.4 billion in 2021, mostly because the Kyndryl spin-off and earlier divestitures removed low-margin services. Since then the slimmer company has grown each year: $60.5 billion in 2022, $61.9 billion in 2023, $62.8 billion in 2024, and $67.5 billion in 2025 (up 7.6%). FY2025 net income from continuing operations was $10.6 billion and free cash flow was $14.7 billion. In Q2 2026, revenue rose 1% to $17.16 billion: software grew 5% to $7.76 billion, consulting was flat at $5.33 billion, and infrastructure fell 7% to $3.84 billion as IBM Z sales lapped the z17 launch. Some large software deals slipped out of the quarter, so IBM cut its 2026 constant-currency revenue growth forecast to 4-5% while keeping its target of about $1 billion more free cash flow than in 2025.
Revenue and profit by year
FedEx
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $94.7B | $4.4B | 4.7% | +7.7% | Source |
| FY2025 | $87.9B | $4.1B | 4.7% | +0.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $87.7B | $4.3B | 4.9% | -2.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $90.2B | $4B | 4.4% | -3.6% | Source |
| FY2022 | $93.5B | $3.8B | 4.1% | +11.4% | Source |
| FY2021 | $84B | $5.2B | 6.2% | +21.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $69.2B | $1.3B | 1.9% | -0.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $69.7B | $540M | 0.8% | +6.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $65.5B | $4.6B | 7.0% | +8.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $60.3B | $3B | 5.0% | — | Source |
IBM
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $67.5B | $10.6B | 15.7% | +7.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $62.8B | $6B | 9.6% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $61.9B | $7.5B | 12.1% | +2.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $60.5B | $1.6B | 2.7% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $57.4B | $5.7B | 10.0% | +3.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $55.2B | $5.6B | 10.1% | -4.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $57.7B | $9.4B | 16.3% | -27.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $79.6B | $8.7B | 11.0% | +0.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $79.1B | $5.8B | 7.3% | -1.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $79.9B | $11.9B | 14.9% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
FedEx
- Package Delivery and Express Services
Largest stream
Domestic and international parcel delivery through the integrated Federal Express air-ground network.
- Fuel Surcharges and Yield Management
Variable stream
Pricing mechanisms tied to fuel, shipment mix, base yields, and service levels.
- Logistics, Customs, and Technology Services
Supporting stream
Brokerage, supply-chain management, e-commerce enablement, tracking, and customer technology services.
IBM
- Software~44%
Red Hat, automation, data and AI, transaction processing, security, and related software services.
- Consulting~31%
Technology consulting, business transformation, hybrid cloud implementation, and AI-enabled workflows.
- Infrastructure~23%
IBM Z, distributed infrastructure, storage, infrastructure software, maintenance, and related services.
- Financing~1%
Client financing and used equipment sales supporting enterprise technology deployments.
Business model and strategy
FedEx
How it makes money
FedEx earns money by charging shippers to move parcels and freight through a high-fixed-cost network of aircraft, hubs, sort facilities, and delivery routes. Prices depend on weight, dimensions, distance, and speed (overnight, two-day, ground, international priority or economy), plus fuel, residential, and peak surcharges that are updated weekly or seasonally.
Growth strategy
FedEx's growth plan has three parts: lower cost to serve by merging Express and Ground routes and facilities under Network 2.0, shrink and modernize the air fleet to match demand, and push into higher-yield segments such as healthcare cold chain, B2B shipping, small and mid-sized business customers, and cross-border e-commerce.
Competitive advantage
FedEx's moat is physical scale that is very hard to copy: one of the world's largest cargo airlines, the Memphis World Hub that sorts packages overnight, and pickup and delivery coverage in more than 220 countries and territories.
IBM
How it makes money
IBM makes money from four segments. Software ($29.96 billion in FY2025, about 44% of revenue) includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift, HashiCorp Terraform and Vault, Confluent data streaming (from March 2026), watsonx AI, automation, security, and mainframe transaction-processing software, sold mostly as subscriptions and recurring licenses.
Growth strategy
IBM does not try to beat AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud at selling public cloud capacity. It sells the software layer that runs across all of them and across on-premises data centers.
Competitive advantage
IBM's main advantage is how deeply it is built into the core systems of large regulated organizations. Banks, card networks, insurers, and governments run high-volume transaction processing on IBM Z, and moving those workloads is slow, risky, and expensive.
Questions about FedEx vs IBM
Which company has higher revenue — FedEx Corporation or International Business Machines Corporation?
FedEx Corporation reported $94.7B (FY2026), while International Business Machines Corporation reported $67.5B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, FedEx Corporation is the larger business, with International Business Machines Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of FedEx Corporation vs International Business Machines Corporation?
FedEx Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $73.0B, while International Business Machines Corporation's is $216.3B. International Business Machines Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to FedEx Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — FedEx Corporation or International Business Machines Corporation?
FedEx Corporation generates $179k / employee in revenue per employee, while International Business Machines Corporation generates $256k / employee. International Business Machines Corporation shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do FedEx Corporation and International Business Machines Corporation make money?
FedEx Corporation and International Business Machines Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. FedEx Corporation: FedEx earns money by charging shippers to move parcels and freight through a high-fixed-cost network of aircraft, hubs, sort facilities, and delivery routes. International Business Machines Corporation: IBM makes money from four segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — FedEx Corporation or International Business Machines Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, FedEx Corporation trades at 0.8x P/S and International Business Machines Corporation at 3.2x P/S. International Business Machines Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to FedEx Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is FedEx Corporation bigger than International Business Machines Corporation?
By last reported revenue, FedEx Corporation ($94.7B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to International Business Machines Corporation ($67.5B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the FedEx vs IBM overview