IBM reported $69.0B of remaining performance obligations at 30 Sep 2026, up 8% from a year earlier and up 1% from the previous quarter. That is 1.0 years of trailing revenue already under contract. Book-to-bill last quarter: 1.06.
Net new backlog added in the latest quarter: $1.00B.
Over the last twelve months it turned about 103% of its opening backlog into revenue (12-month conversion).
The company reports 70% of the backlog due within the first 24 months.
Twelve-month book-to-bill: 1.07, i.e. 1.07 of new orders for every 1 of revenue recognised.
Backlog growth minus revenue growth: +1 points — orders are running ahead of revenue.
By backlog size it ranks 16th among US filers the cockpit tracks.
IBM backlog history
Remaining performance obligations at each quarter end (bars) against trailing twelve-month revenue (line).
Amounts in USD. Source: SEC XBRL filings.
Quarter end
Backlog (RPO)
TTM revenue
Coverage
Customer prepayments
30 Sep 2026
$69.0B
$69.9B
1.0 yrs
n/a
30 Jun 2026
$68.0B
$69.1B
1.0 yrs
n/a
31 Mar 2026
$69.0B
$68.9B
1.0 yrs
n/a
31 Dec 2025
$71.0B
$67.5B
1.1 yrs
n/a
30 Sep 2025
$64.0B
$65.4B
1.0 yrs
n/a
30 Jun 2025
$66.0B
$64.0B
1.0 yrs
n/a
31 Mar 2025
$64.0B
$62.8B
1.0 yrs
n/a
31 Dec 2024
$63.0B
$62.8B
1.0 yrs
n/a
30 Sep 2024
$57.0B
$62.6B
0.9 yrs
n/a
30 Jun 2024
$56.0B
$62.4B
0.9 yrs
n/a
31 Mar 2024
$56.0B
$62.1B
0.9 yrs
n/a
31 Dec 2023
$60.0B
$61.9B
1.0 yrs
n/a
Questions
What is IBM's backlog?
IBM reported $69.0B of remaining performance obligations at 30 Sep 2026, up 8% from a year earlier and up 1% from the previous quarter. That is 1.0 years of trailing revenue already under contract. Book-to-bill last quarter: 1.06.
How fast does IBM's backlog turn into revenue?
Over the last twelve months IBM recognised revenue equal to about 103% of the backlog it started each quarter with.
About these numbers
Remaining performance obligations (RPO) are revenue a company has contracted but not yet recognised, as reported in its SEC filings (XBRL tag RevenueRemainingPerformanceObligation). Coverage = backlog ÷ trailing twelve-month revenue. Book-to-bill = (change in backlog + revenue) ÷ revenue. Conversion = revenue recognised ÷ the backlog at the start of each quarter, summed over four quarters. Counterparty values come from company filings and releases.