International Business Machines (XSWX:IBM) 5-Year RORE % : 21.79% (As of Mar. 2026)

International Business Machines  (XSWX:IBM) 5-Year RORE % Explanation

Return on Retained Earnings (RORE) is important to investors because it reveals a company's efficiency and growth potential. A higher RORE indicates a higher return. A high RORE indicates that the company should reinvest profits into the business. A lower RORE suggests that the company should distribute profits to shareholders by paying out dividends, since those dollars aren't generating much additional growth for the company.

There are a several different ways to arrive at the Return on Retained Earnings. The simplest way to calculate it is by using published information on Earnings per Share (EPS) and Dividend per Share (DPS) over a selected period. Here, 5-year period is chosen.

Be Aware

Please keep in mind that the RORE is relative to the nature of the business and its competitors. If another company in the same sector is producing a lower return on retained earnings, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad investment. It may just suggest the company is older and no longer in a high growth stage. At such a stage in the business cycle, it would be expected to see a lower RORE and higher dividend payout.

International Business Machines 5-Year RORE % Related Terms

The historical data trend for International Business Machines's 5-Year RORE % can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

International Business Machines 5-Year RORE % Chart

International Business Machines Annual Data
	Trend	Dec16	Dec17	Dec18	Dec19	Dec20	Dec21	Dec22	Dec23	Dec24	Dec25
5-Year RORE %		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					-1.17	-363.25	-70.65	-0.69	20.48

International Business Machines Quarterly Data
	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23	Mar24	Jun24	Sep24	Dec24	Mar25	Jun25	Sep25	Dec25	Mar26
5-Year RORE %	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															-4.12	-0.76	21.19	20.48	21.79

XSWX:IBM vs ACN, FISV, FIS: 5-Year RORE % Comparison

For the Information Technology Services subindustry, International Business Machines's 5-Year RORE %, along with its competitors' market caps and 5-Year RORE % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

International Business Machines 5-Year RORE % vs Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, International Business Machines's 5-Year RORE % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where International Business Machines's 5-Year RORE % falls into.

International Business Machines 5-Year RORE % Calculation

International Business Machines's 5-Year RORE % for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 is calculated as:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

In the calculation of 5-Year RORE %, the most recent and first period EPS (Diluted) is the trailing twelve months (TTM) data ended in Mar. 2026 and 5-year before.

International Business Machines Business Description