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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

International Business Machines vs MKS: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

International Business Machines holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across stability and valuation. MKS still has the edge on profitability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. In the market, MKS carries the stronger setup — intact trend against International Business Machines's broken trend. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with International Business Machines, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

This is not just a one-metric split: both stability and valuation materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 23 points in favour of International Business Machines Corporation.

Trajectory Similarity
0.67
Moderately similar
Peer-set rank: #47
within International Business Machines Corporation's functional peer set

These two companies are linked by measured long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity points to a meaningful structural match, though not a tight one.

Most of the shared profile comes through investment intensity and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
investment intensityrevenue stability
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
MKSI
MKS Inc.
36
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: IBM vs MKSI Profitability 23 34 Stability 76 17 Valuation 79 31 Growth 64 63 IBM MKSI
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +59
#2 Valuation +48
#3 Profitability +11
#4 Growth +1
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for IBM and MKSI Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer IBMMKSI Relative valuation Structural strength

International Business Machines Corporation looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where IBM and MKSI each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY IBM Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 26 pct gap MKSI Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 73rd 99th
Today IBM sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (73rd percentile), while MKSI sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, IBM is at a historically more favourable entry position than MKSI. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
On stability, International Business Machines Corporation ranks near the top of the group; MKS Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the gap still runs the same way: International Business Machines Corporation sits near the top of the group, while MKS Inc. remains in the weaker half.
Stability — Dominant Gap
IBM
76
MKSI
17
Gap+59in favour of IBM

The clearest distance comes from a steadier profile over time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

On the market side, MKS carries the stronger trend while International Business Machines's trend has broken — the market setup does not confirm the structural advantage.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both stability and valuation — though profitability still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the IBM vs MKSI comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar stability-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how IBM and MKSI each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.