By Rafael Müller
Publication Date: 2026-09-23 10:50:00
IBM investors have spent most of 2026 watching the company’s research arm generate headlines while its core business generated disappointment. On October 21, that split-screen narrative gets its first real test, when the Armonk-based technology giant reports third-quarter results after the U.S. market close.
The setup is unusually binary. Shares recently changed hands at 203.10 EUR, up 0.4% on the day, but down 22% since the start of the year — a decline that has left the stock searching for a floor while management tries to convince the market that its turnaround is more than a slide deck.
The Number That Matters Most
Strip away the quantum computing announcements and the AI partnerships, and IBM’s investment case still rests on one figure: currency-adjusted revenue growth. The company trimmed its full-year 2026 guidance to a range of 4% to 5%, down from an earlier target of more than 5%. That corridor is now the credibility test for CEO and management team…
