IBM Corporation is scored 50 for moat and 75 for management. The management score rests on a return on invested capital of 10.4% and a gross margin of 58.2% — figures that describe a business earning a respectable return on what it employs. The balance sheet carries debt at 2.06x equity, which magnifies both the returns above and the risk beneath them. The moderate moat and strong management are not the same judgement, and the gap between them is where the argument about this business sits.
The price anchors are built on deliberately conservative assumptions. Growth is modelled at 4.1% a year, the rate measured from the filings. The exit multiple assumed is 8.2x. That produces an intrinsic value of $34.52, a 10-CAP price of $147.04 and a payback time price of $141.70, with the value zone set at the highest of the three, $147.04. Today's price of $225.62 is 53% above it.
The price is above the value zone and the business scores 50 for moat and 75 for management. Neither test argues for paying up here.
| Price | $225.62 |
| Market cap | $212.6B |
| P/E ratio | 20.0x |
| Return on invested capital | 10.4% |
| Gross margin | 58.2% |
| Debt to equity | 2.06x |
| Free cash flow yield | 4.4% |
| Growth rate used | 4.1% |
| Growth rate measured | 4.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 8.2x |
| Company | Moat | Buy price |
| Accenture plc (ACN) | 80 | $224.58 |
| Fiserv Inc. (FI) | 78 | $119.99 |
| Cognizant Technology (CTSH) | 57 | $57.80 |
| Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) | 95 | $134.87 |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of IBM Corporation rather than accepting ours.