By Patrick Sanders, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-10-22 18:17:00
Key Points
IBM’s revenue growth accelerated to 5%, and it raised its free cash flow outlook, yet shares slipped the next day.
Roughly half of the company’s software’s 9% growth came from its Confluent acquisition, and management’s outlook points to a slower fourth quarter.
IBM still has plenty to offer, including an established customer base and a reliable dividend.
In July, IBM (NYSE:IBM) stock suffered the worst day in its 115-year history, falling about 25% after the company warned that customers had shifted spending away from its products.
The miss was clearly a matter of timing — a series of major contracts IBM was planning didn’t close by the end of the quarter, as its customers shifted spending to memory and storage products whose prices were increasing rapidly.
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