By Timothy Green
Publication Date: 2026-01-07 15:05:00
A year of progress in AI and quantum computing.
Shares of International Business Machines (IBM 0.69%) had a stellar year in 2025. The stock soared 34.7%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, beating the S&P 500 by a wide margin. The tech giant’s booming AI business, as well as progress in commercializing quantum computers, helped drive the impressive gains last year.
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A differentiated AI strategy
IBM has built its AI business around constructing solutions for its enterprise customers that tackle real-world problems. The company’s consulting business leads the charge, with the bulk of IBM’s AI bookings coming from consulting signings. The rest comes from software, namely the company’s watsonx platform.
IBM’s AI book of business stood at $5 billion at the end of 2024. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, that figure had nearly doubled to $9.5 billion. Despite sluggish demand for some discretionary tech projects, AI growth was…
