By Simply Wall St
Publication Date: 2026-02-26 12:30:00
- In late February 2026, International Business Machines faced intense scrutiny after Anthropic’s Claude Code AI tool was promoted as a way to automate and accelerate modernization of COBOL-based systems that often run on IBM mainframes, sparking questions about the resilience of IBM’s legacy infrastructure and consulting franchises.
- At the same time, IBM announced moves such as tripling US entry-level hiring for 2026, expanding its watsonx Orchestrate platform with Deepgram’s voice AI, and securing a US$112.00 million Defense Commissary Agency contract, underscoring how the company is trying to align its workforce and product stack with an AI-centric future even as investors reassess disruption risks.
- With IBM’s shares down about 8.9% over the past week, we’ll assess how Claude Code’s COBOL ambitions may reshape the existing investment narrative.
Outshine the giants: these 23 early-stage AI stocks could fund your retirement.
