IBM vs Uber: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
IBM reported $67.5B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.6B of net income. Uber reported $52B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.1B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
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.
Uber
Uber moved from years of heavy losses to steady profitability. Revenue grew from $37.3 billion in FY2023 to $44.0 billion in FY2024 and $52.0 billion in FY2025, while net income attributable to Uber was $10.053 billion in FY2025 (FY2024's $9.856 billion included a large tax valuation allowance release). Growth continued into 2026: Q2 2026 gross bookings rose 24% year over year to $58.0 billion and revenue rose about 12% to roughly $14.2 billion, and trailing twelve-month free cash flow passed $10 billion. The pending Delivery Hero deal, valued at $14.8 billion in equity, would be Uber's largest acquisition.
Revenue and profit by year
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 |
Uber
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $52B | $10.1B | 19.3% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $44B | $9.9B | 22.4% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $37.3B | $1.9B | 5.1% | +17.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $31.9B | -$9.1B | -28.7% | +82.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $17.5B | -$496M | -2.8% | +56.7% | Source |
| FY2020 | $11.1B | -$6.8B | -60.8% | -14.3% | Source |
| FY2019 | $13B | -$8.5B | -65.4% | +24.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $10.4B | $997M | 9.6% | +31.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $7.9B | -$4B | -50.8% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
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.
Uber
- Mobility
~52% (Q2 2026)
Fees from ride-hailing trips, including UberX, Uber Black, taxis and autonomous rides on partner vehicles. About $7.36B of Q2 2026 revenue.
- Delivery
~37% (Q2 2026)
Fees from Uber Eats restaurant, grocery and retail orders, plus delivery advertising. About $5.25B of Q2 2026 revenue.
- Freight
~11% (Q2 2026)
Uber Freight brokerage and managed transportation services for shippers.
Business model and strategy
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.
Uber
How it makes money
Uber does not own most of the cars, restaurants or trucks on its platform. It matches riders with independent drivers (Mobility), consumers with restaurants, grocers and couriers (Delivery), and shippers with carriers (Freight), and keeps a share of each transaction as revenue.
Growth strategy
Uber's growth strategy centers on cross-platform engagement between Mobility and Delivery, Uber One membership, advertising, autonomous-vehicle partnerships, and international delivery scale. The €41.50-per-share Delivery Hero tender, launched September 18, 2026 after Delivery Hero's boards recommended it on September 2, would extend delivery density; Uber expects closing in the second half of 2027.
Competitive advantage
Uber's advantage comes from local marketplace liquidity, brand recognition, routing data, payments, driver and courier networks, merchant relationships, subscriptions, and cross-sell between Mobility and Delivery.
Questions about IBM vs Uber
Which company has higher revenue — International Business Machines Corporation or Uber Technologies, Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation reported $67.5B (FY2025), while Uber Technologies, Inc. reported $52.0B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, International Business Machines Corporation is the larger business, with Uber Technologies, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of International Business Machines Corporation vs Uber Technologies, Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $216.3B, while Uber Technologies, Inc.'s is $142.0B. International Business Machines Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Uber Technologies, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — International Business Machines Corporation or Uber Technologies, Inc.?
International Business Machines Corporation generates $256k / employee in revenue per employee, while Uber Technologies, Inc. generates $1.53M / employee. Uber Technologies, Inc. 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 International Business Machines Corporation and Uber Technologies, Inc. make money?
International Business Machines Corporation and Uber Technologies, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. International Business Machines Corporation: IBM makes money from four segments. Uber Technologies, Inc.: Uber does not own most of the cars, restaurants or trucks on its platform.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — International Business Machines Corporation or Uber Technologies, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, International Business Machines Corporation trades at 3.2x P/S and Uber Technologies, Inc. at 2.7x P/S. International Business Machines Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Uber Technologies, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is International Business Machines Corporation bigger than Uber Technologies, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, International Business Machines Corporation ($67.5B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Uber Technologies, Inc. ($52.0B (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 IBM vs Uber overview