IBM's Think 2026 Conference Highlights Major Acquisition and Quantum Computing
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy IBM?
Source: seekingalpha
- Acquisition Strategy: At the Think 2026 event in Boston, CEO Arvind Krishna will detail IBM's $11 billion acquisition of Confluent, the largest since Red Hat in 2019, which is expected to bolster IBM's hybrid cloud strategy.
- Customer Growth: Confluent, a data streaming platform, has approximately 6,500 enterprise customers and was growing at about 20% at the time of acquisition, providing IBM with new revenue streams and enhancing its market competitiveness.
- New Product Features: The conference will also showcase the Spyre Accelerator and Bob, IBM's new AI software development system, which are anticipated to drive further demand for IBM's products and strengthen its leadership in the AI sector.
- Hardware Spending Multiplier: IBM will emphasize the 3x-4x stack multiplier effect on hardware spending following the z17 mainframe cycle, indicating that customers tend to increase spending on transaction processing, hybrid cloud software, and consulting services after purchasing mainframes, thereby sustaining growth between mainframe cycles.
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Analyst Views on IBM
Wall Street analysts forecast IBM stock price to rise
16 Analyst Rating
11 Buy
4 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 225.740
Low
210.00
Averages
315.80
High
375.00
Current: 225.740
Low
210.00
Averages
315.80
High
375.00
About IBM
International Business Machines Corporation is a provider of global hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) and consulting expertise. The Company’s segments include Software, Consulting, Infrastructure and Financing. The Software segment includes hybrid cloud and AI platforms, which allow clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate. The Consulting segment focuses on integrating skills on strategy, experience, technology and operations by domain and industry. The Infrastructure segment is focused on the hybrid cloud infrastructure market, providing on-premises and cloud-based server and storage solutions. In addition, it offers a portfolio of life-cycle services for hybrid cloud infrastructure deployment. The Financing segment provides client and commercial financing, facilitating its clients’ acquisition of hardware, software and services. It helps clients in more than 175 countries.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Long-term Relationship: Since 1947, IBM has built a long-term partnership with Aramco that has traversed multiple technology waves, with a shared focus on innovation, investment, and delivering large-scale impact, highlighting their mutual commitment to technological advancement.
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- Customer Growth: Confluent, a data streaming platform, has approximately 6,500 enterprise customers and was growing at about 20% at the time of acquisition, providing IBM with new revenue streams and enhancing its market competitiveness.
- New Product Features: The conference will also showcase the Spyre Accelerator and Bob, IBM's new AI software development system, which are anticipated to drive further demand for IBM's products and strengthen its leadership in the AI sector.
- Hardware Spending Multiplier: IBM will emphasize the 3x-4x stack multiplier effect on hardware spending following the z17 mainframe cycle, indicating that customers tend to increase spending on transaction processing, hybrid cloud software, and consulting services after purchasing mainframes, thereby sustaining growth between mainframe cycles.
See More
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See More
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- AI Capability Expansion: At the annual Think conference, IBM unveiled the next generation of watsonx Orchestrate, designed to provide enterprises with multi-agent orchestration capabilities, enabling consistent policy enforcement and auditability while managing thousands of agents, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
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