The Consensus Forecast For IBM In 2017 - When The Dog Ate The Homework Of Analysts

Is it too soon to do reviews and forecasts for the New Year? I noticed another contributor to SA has offered a forecast for Palo Alto (NYSE:PANW) and its prospective performance for the coming year. Several brokerage analysts have offered their evaluation of the year ahead for IBM (NYSE:IBM). The old year is passing at a frightful pace, and it means that all valuation metrics need to be adjusted for the year ahead. One of the interesting things about IBM is that its headline metrics are not expected to change much in 2017, with earnings expected to rise and revenues expected to show marginal shrinkage, how much credence should investors place in the consensus? How should investors look at prospects for IBM's dividend? How should investors value a company without growth, or will there be growth in the future? Of course, I do not hold all the answers. But I think as 2017 approaches, it might be worthwhile for me to express my point of view about what to expect going forward. I think that IBM is most likely to miss and/or guide down for a variety of reasons that I outline in the foregoing article.