Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. IBM scored 58.3, EXLS scored 80.6 — EXLS leads.
Compare another set
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation
Information Technology Services · Quality-Growth
58.3
$227.13 · $214.0B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
22.3
EXLS leads
EXLS
ExlService Holdings, Inc.
Information Technology Services · Quality-Growth
80.6
$36.79 · $5.6B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestIBM20.2x
Fastest growthEXLS+13.6%
Strongest balance sheetEXLS0.57
Highest qualityEXLS85 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueIBM-20%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
IBM
stronger →← stronger
EXLS
70
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
85
60
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
85
47
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
73
EXLS is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
IBM
EXLS
$13.1bA-
FCF
$275mC
+7.6%B
Rev
+13.6%B+
1.89D
D/E
0.57C+
20.2xB+
P/E
23.3xB+
2.14C
PEG
0.96B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
IBM
EXLS
20% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
4% below
~0%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~8%/yr
+20%
1-yr DCF upside
-8%
+25%
5-yr DCF upside
+4%
+32%
10-yr DCF upside
+25%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
IBM
No notable signals flagged.
EXLS
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation
Information Technology Services · $227.13 · beta 0.72
Why now
Information Technology Services · market cap $214.0b. Down 32% from 52-week high of $332.46 — deep drawdown territory. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $240.56 (implying +6% upside).
Moat
Net margin 16% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 34% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 123% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 32% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up.
EXLSExlService Holdings, Inc.
Information Technology Services · $36.79 · beta 0.84
Why now
Information Technology Services · market cap $5.6b. 16% off the 52-week high of $43.88. Revenue growing +14%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.96 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 8 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $44.63 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
ROE 26% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 110% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where IBM and EXLS diverge
On the headline score the gap is 22.3 points in favor of EXLS. The widest single difference is Value, where EXLS leads by 25.6 points.
ValueIBM 47.0 · EXLS 72.6EXLS +25.6
GrowthIBM 59.9 · EXLS 85.0EXLS +25.1
QualityIBM 70.2 · EXLS 84.7EXLS +14.5
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is EXLS or IBM the better stock?
EXLS scores higher: EXLS 80.6, IBM 58.3 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do EXLS and IBM differ most?
The widest gap is value, where EXLS leads by 26 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. EXLS leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are EXLS and IBM scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.