IBM vs Yahoo Interview Questions
IBM lists 115 LeetCode interview questions while Yahoo lists 34. They share 12 problems — 10% of IBM's bank and 35% of Yahoo's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 103 IBM-only and 22 Yahoo-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 12 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both IBM and Yahoo.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add IBM-specific problems like Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold, Gray Code, 3Sum and Yahoo-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Yahoo skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
12 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both IBM and Yahoo.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| Validate Binary Search Tree | Medium |
| Subarray Sum Equals K | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Palindrome Number | Easy |
| Word Break | Medium |
| LRU Cache | Medium |
Unique to IBM (103)
Problems in IBM's list that do not appear at Yahoo.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold | Medium |
| Gray Code | Medium |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Exclusive Time of Functions | Medium |
| Integer to Roman | Medium |
| Minimum Operations to Make Columns Strictly Increasing | Easy |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Count Ways to Group Overlapping Ranges | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
| Minimum Absolute Difference | Easy |
| Minimum Operations to Make All Array Elements Equal | Medium |
Unique to Yahoo (22)
Problems in Yahoo's list that do not appear at IBM.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do IBM and Yahoo share?
IBM and Yahoo share 12 LeetCode interview questions. 103 problems appear only in IBM's list and 22 appear only in Yahoo's list.
What topics overlap most between IBM and Yahoo?
The most common shared topics between IBM and Yahoo are Array (6 shared questions), Hash Table (5 shared questions), String (4 shared questions), Math (2 shared questions), Prefix Sum (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: IBM or Yahoo?
IBM has 33 Easy, 73 Medium, and 9 Hard questions. Yahoo has 11 Easy, 20 Medium, and 3 Hard questions. Yahoo has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both IBM and Yahoo?
Start with the 12 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 IBM-specific and 20 Yahoo-specific questions to round out your prep.