Why IBM Stock Jumped 5.3% This Morning | The Motley Fool

Why IBM Stock Jumped 5.3% This Morning | The Motley Fool

By Anders Bylund
Publication Date: 2026-05-28 17:35:00

Shares of IBM (IBM +2.86%) surged as much as 5.3% higher on Thursday morning, peaking around 10 a.m. ET. Two hours later, Big Blue’s stock is up by 4%, adding $10.0 billion to the tech stock’s market value.

The company is making significant investments in quantum computing and open-source software. The quantum news did most of the market-moving work today, but I’m honestly just as excited about the software news.

Image source: Getty Images.

IBM puts $15 billion where its mouth is

In a financial filing, IBM laid out a five-year plan for quantum computing investments. The company will deploy “more than $10 billion” in several parts of the quantum ecosystem, ranging from research efforts to buyouts. The core goal is to build “the first large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer” before the calendar turns to 2030.

Meanwhile, IBM and its Red Hat subsidiary just launched Project Lightwell, a $5 billion initiative that pairs over 20,000 engineers with AI to secure the open source…