5 Best Dividend Aristocrat Stocks to Buy in 2026

2. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

On April 23, Morgan Stanley raised its price recommendation on International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) to $225 from $215. It reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The analyst noted that while IBM delivered a modest beat in the first quarter and kept its full-year outlook mostly unchanged, the market “may have been expecting more upward pressure” on estimates. In that context, the analyst said Q1 “does not do much to change the narrative on IBM.”

During the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO Arvind Krishna pointed to 6% revenue growth in the first quarter and said stronger margins helped drive a 13% increase in free cash flow. He added that software revenue rose 8%, supported by double-digit growth in both data-related offerings and Red Hat. Infrastructure also stood out, increasing 12%, helped by what he described as another record quarter for Z systems, which jumped 48%.

Consulting growth was more limited at 1%. Even so, he highlighted steady progress in enterprise data projects and business application transformation work. Krishna also pointed to recent moves around the company’s portfolio and partnerships. He mentioned the closing of the Confluent deal during the quarter and said IBM had entered into strategic collaborations with NVIDIA and Arm. These efforts are aimed at expanding how AI workloads run across IBM’s infrastructure.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) provides hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and consulting services globally. The company operates through four segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing.