By Jakob Steinschaden
Publication Date: 2026-02-24 08:53:00
First it was SaaS stocks, then cybersecurity firms’ shares, and now “Big Blue” is in the crosshairs: IBM’s stock recorded its strongest single-day loss in over 25 years on Monday. The trigger was the announcement by AI startup Anthropic that its tool “Claude Code” could significantly simplify the modernization of COBOL systems. The stock plummeted 13.2 percent, the highest decline since October 2000. Investors fear that artificial intelligence could fundamentally change IBM’s traditional mainframe business.
As reported, the market recently observed that SaaS stocks came under pressure following the release of Claude Cowork, and then Claude Code Security caused a shock in cybersecurity stocks.
What is COBOL and where is it used?
COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a programming language developed in the late 1950s. Despite its age, it still runs on countless systems worldwide today. By some estimates, 95 percent of all ATM transactions in the United States…