We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) stands against the other cloud computing stocks.
Cloud computing enables companies to store their infrastructures remotely using the Internet, ultimately reducing costs and creating value. As per Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is expected to reach $723.4 billion in 2025, reflecting a rise from $595.7 billion in 2024. The use of Al technologies in IT and business operations continues to accelerate the role of cloud computing in helping operations and outcomes. The cloud use cases have been expanding with an increased focus on distributed, hybrid, cloud-native, and multi-cloud environments, aided by a cross-cloud framework, which should make the public cloud services market achieve a growth rate of 21.5% in 2025.
Gartner believes that 90% of organizations will adopt a hybrid cloud approach through 2027. Resultantly, all segments of the cloud market should see a double-digit growth rate in 2025 demonstrating how I&O (Infrastructure and Operations) leaders remain focused on effectively integrating I&O into their GenAl strategies and laying the groundwork for running Al and GenAl infrastructure at the edge.
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Key Trends to Watch Out in 2025
Moving forward, the concept of cloud computing is expected to change because of technological enhancements and dynamic business requirements. As per Nasscom Community, quantum computing integration, AI-driven cloud services and multi-cloud, and interoperability are some of the future trends in cloud computing. The emerging field of quantum computing focuses on changing how data processing is done because it can handle even the most complicated computations that some other conventional systems cannot solve. Over the next 5 years, more cloud services are expected to offer its clients quantum computing capabilities, which should in turn help in cryptography, drug development, material science, and optimization.
AI and ML are some of the leading technologies behind innovation in the cloud. Nasscom Community believes that pervasive AI is expected to be in each layer of the cloud system, right from the server level to the customer service level by 2025. Moving forward, AI algorithms should help in predictive analysis and, therefore, prevent problems that can arise with infrastructure, control workload, and reduce automation of tedious tasks.
Future developments in the cloud computing field are expected to enhance the multi-cloud strategies involving using more than one cloud service provider between the business and the cloud altogether. Notably, distributing workloads among several cloud providers would help enterprises maximize cost and performance. The businesses have been dividing their workload across multiple cloud service providers in a bid to control data and resources and use the strength of each cloud service provider.
Our Methodology
To list the 12 Best Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we conducted extensive research and sifted through several online rankings. After getting the initial list of 18 stocks, we chose the ones that were popular among hedge funds and that analysts saw the most upside to. Next, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their average upside potential, as of 10th January. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q3 2024.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Average Upside Potential: 10.1%
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) continues to focus on its strengths in artificial intelligence (AI) and hybrid cloud services to place itself for future growth. The company’s hybrid cloud solutions help enterprises combine public and private cloud resources, enabling seamless data and application portability. With more and more enterprises seeking to implement AI solutions, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s expertise in managing and optimizing Large Language Models both on-premises and in the cloud should result in strong revenue growth.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s recent acquisition of HashiCorp demonstrates a significant move to enhance its cloud capabilities. The integration of HashiCorp’s Terraform product is expected to enhance OpenShift adoption and result in market share gains. This acquisition aligns with International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s strategy of strengthening its position in the hybrid cloud market and offering comprehensive solutions to its enterprise customers.
HashiCorp’s offerings, combined with IBM and Red Hat, are expected to provide clients a platform for the automation of deployment and orchestration of workloads across evolving infrastructure including hyperscale cloud service providers, private clouds, and on-prem environments. This should enhance International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)’s ability to address the total cloud opportunity, which according to IDC had a TAM of $1.1 trillion in 2023, with a CAGR in high teens through 2027. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) expects the transaction to be accretive to Adjusted EBITDA in the first full year, post-close, and FCF in year two.
Overall IBM ranks 10th on our list of the best cloud computing stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of IBM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than IBM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
