IBM (IBM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal second quarter after the market close on July 18, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch for:

1. GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, IBM guided for FY22 revenue growth at the high end of the mid-single digit range. At the time, analysts were expecting the company to report FY22 revenue of $60.68B, but that figure has since risen to $60.89B. Looking at Q2, Wall Street expects the company to report EPS of $2.28 on revenue of $15.19B.

2. MORGAN STANLEY: Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said he expects IBM to report Q2 revenues in-line with expectations, but added that he is "keeping a close eye on margins" given inflationary pressures. IBM has been the best performing stock in his coverage year-to-date and he expects this relative outperformance to continue into the second half of the year given solid software/services checks and upcoming mainframe/ELA renewal cycles said Woodring. The analyst, who reiterated an Overweight rating and $157 price target on the shares ahead of the company's Q2 earnings report, still views IBM as well positioned to outperform late cycle.

3. RUSSIA WIND-DOWN: In early June, IBM released a letter from its President and CEO, Arvind Krishna, dated May 30, to employees, which reads in part: "On March 7th, I shared with you our decision to suspend IBM's business operations in Russia due to the war in Ukraine. Our focus for months has been on looking after the safety and security of IBMers and their families in impacted regions. We chose to suspend operations so that we could evaluate longer-term options while continuing to pay and provide for our employees in Russia. As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM's business in Russia. We see this move as both right and necessary, and a natural next step following our business suspension. This process will commence today and result in the separation of our local workforce."

4. M&A: Also in June, IBM announced that it plans to acquire Randori, an attack surface management and offensive cybersecurity provider based in the Boston area. Randori helps clients continuously identify external facing assets, both on-premise or in the cloud, that are visible to attackers - and prioritize exposures that pose the greatest risk. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in next few months, subject to customary closing conditions and any required regulatory reviews.

About a month later, the company announced the acquisition of Databand.ai, a provider of data observability software that helps organizations fix issues with their data, including errors, pipeline failures, and poor quality. "Today's news further strengthens IBM's software portfolio across data, AI, and automation to address the full spectrum of observability and helps businesses ensure that trustworthy data is being put into the right hands of the right users at the right time," the company said at the time of the announcement.

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