IBM Stock Plunges 5.7% on AI Adoption Fears, Despite Q1 Strength and New Security-ServiceNow Push
Published on 06/18/2026 at 18:18 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
IBM shares suffered their sharpest one-day drop in months on Thursday, tumbling 5.7% to €214.95 as a warning from rival Accenture and the company's own internal research stoked concerns about near-term demand for artificial intelligence services. The sell-off extended a brutal correction from the stock's early-June peak, leaving it more than 26% below that record high.
Accenture lit the fuse by slashing its full-year revenue forecast, now expecting currency-adjusted growth of just 3% to 4%. Weak bookings from the U.S. government weighed heavily on the IT services giant, and investors quickly drew parallels to IBM's consulting and cloud businesses. The broader sentiment was further soured by rising inflation and the prospect of sustained high interest rates.
IBM then added to the anxiety with a survey of 1,000 corporate executives that revealed a startling lack of control over their AI deployments. A full 91% of respondents admitted they do not fully understand their own dependencies on AI systems, and most said switching AI models would be extremely difficult. Analysts interpreted the findings as a warning that large-scale AI projects could be delayed as customers fear vendor entrenchment — a direct threat to IBM's cloud and Watsonx revenue ambitions.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying IBM?
Yet even as the market recoiled, IBM pressed ahead with tactical moves to address those very concerns. On Friday, the company will launch the zSecure Secret Manager, an automated tool that manages security certificates on its Z-series mainframes. The upgrade eliminates manual processes and reduces the risk of outages, especially for banks and government agencies that rely on mainframes as their first line of defense.
At the same time, IBM deepened its alliance with ServiceNow. Starting in the second half of 2026, clients will be able to use IBM tools directly through the ServiceNow platform. The partnership integrates Red Hat Ansible and HashiCorp into existing workflows, while IBM's watsonx.data will monitor data quality. The aim is to open up legacy systems for AI without forcing a disruptive rip-and-replace.
Operationally, IBM remains on firm footing. First-quarter revenue rose 6% to $15.9 billion, led by a 12% jump in the infrastructure segment. Free cash flow hit a ten-year high of $2.2 billion. The company also closed its multibillion-dollar acquisition of Confluent to accelerate software growth. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan recently raised his price target to $315 and reiterated a buy rating, citing sustained demand for AI infrastructure.
The stock's pullback has cooled a red-hot rally. Wednesday's close of €228.00 capped a month that still showed a 19% gain, but the Relative Strength Index has now dropped to 48.6, indicating neutral territory after earlier overbought conditions. The key support level is the 50-day moving average at roughly €215, just above Thursday's close. A break below that could invite further selling, especially given the historically elevated valuation. The next major catalyst comes on July 22, 2026, when IBM reports second-quarter earnings. Analysts expect earnings per share of $2.95, and a strong outlook would go a long way toward arresting the current decline.
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