The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who didn’t). Let’s take a look at how it services & consulting stocks fared in Q1, starting with IBM (NYSE: IBM).
IT Services & Consulting companies stand to benefit from increasing enterprise demand for digital transformation, AI-driven automation, and cybersecurity resilience. Many enterprises can't attack these topics alone and need IT services and consulting on everything from technical advice to implementation. Challenges in meeting these needs will include finding talent in specialized and evolving IT fields. While AI and automation can enhance productivity, they also threaten to commoditize certain consulting functions. Another ongoing challenge will be pricing pressures from offshore IT service providers, which have lower labor costs and increasingly equal access to advanced technology like AI.
The 8 it services & consulting stocks we track reported a slower Q1. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 2.3% below.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 18% since the latest earnings results.
IBM (NYSE: IBM)
With a corporate history spanning over a century and once known for its iconic mainframe computers, IBM (NYSE: IBM) provides hybrid cloud computing platforms, AI solutions, consulting services, and enterprise infrastructure to help businesses modernize their operations.
IBM reported revenues of $15.92 billion, up 9.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
"The first quarter was a strong start to the year with broad-based revenue growth across our segments. These results reflect the integrated value of our portfolio and the trust clients put in us to improve their operations. As clients scale use cases, AI continues to be a tailwind for our global business. IBM products and services are helping clients orchestrate, deploy and govern AI across hybrid environments," said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
IBM achieved the biggest analyst estimate beat and fastest revenue growth in the group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 15.7% since reporting and currently trades at $212.34.
Is now the time to buy IBM? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q1: Gartner (NYSE: IT)
With over 2,500 research experts guiding organizations through complex technology landscapes, Gartner (NYSE: IT) provides research, advisory services, and conferences that help executives make better decisions about technology and other business priorities.
Gartner reported revenues of $1.51 billion, down 1.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. The business had a very strong quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $140.54.
Is now the time to buy Gartner? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q1: Everforth (NYSE: EFOR)
Evolving from its roots in IT staffing to become a high-end technology consulting powerhouse, Everforth (EFOR) provides specialized IT consulting services and staffing solutions to Fortune 1000 companies and U.S. federal government agencies.
Everforth reported revenues of $968.3 million, flat year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS guidance for next quarter estimates.
Everforth delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest guidance update of the whole group. As expected, the stock is down 53.7% since the results and currently trades at $18.73.
Read our full analysis of Everforth’s results here.
Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN)
With engineering centers across the Americas, Europe, and India serving Fortune 1000 companies, Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN) provides technology consulting, engineering, and analytics services to help large enterprises modernize their technology systems and business processes.
Grid Dynamics reported revenues of $104.1 million, up 3.7% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.
Grid Dynamics achieved the highest guidance raise and highest full-year guidance raise in the group. The stock is up 1.2% since reporting and currently trades at $5.76.
Read our full, actionable report on Grid Dynamics here, it’s free.
EPAM (NYSE: EPAM)
Founded in 1993 during the early days of offshore software development, EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM) provides digital engineering, cloud, and AI transformation services to help global enterprises and startups modernize their technology systems and create digital products.
EPAM reported revenues of $1.4 billion, up 7.6% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
The stock is down 17.8% since reporting and currently trades at $87.96.
Read our full, actionable report on EPAM here, it’s free.
Market Update
Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership.
Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products.
By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
