NEW YORK, December 31, 2025, 3:21 PM ET — Regular session
- IBM shares fell about 1.8% in afternoon trading, extending a late-December pullback.
- An amended SEC filing showed a director corrected a prior insider disclosure tied to deferred board fees.
- Traders are watching thin year-end liquidity and IBM’s next earnings update, slated for late January.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp fell about 1.8% on Wednesday, trading around $296.64 in the afternoon after touching a session low of $295.92. The stock opened near $301.76 and was set for its second straight daily drop as the year winds down.
The move matters because the final sessions of the year often bring thinner trading and sharper swings, especially in high-priced Dow components. With many investors sitting on sizable 2025 gains, even routine portfolio tweaks can hit bellwethers like IBM harder than usual.
U.S. stocks drifted lower on the day, led by a slip in technology shares, as investors used the quiet week to lock in gains. “It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity, pointing to profit-taking when liquidity — how easily assets trade without big price moves — is low. Trading volumes have stayed light in the holiday-shortened week, with U.S. markets closed Thursday for New Year’s Day. 1
IBM’s decline carried extra weight in the Dow, a price-weighted index where higher-priced stocks move the gauge more than lower-priced ones, regardless of company size. MarketWatch estimated a $1 move in IBM translates to roughly 6 Dow points, amplifying the index impact of an otherwise ordinary pullback. 2
Even after Wednesday’s dip, IBM has been one of the stronger blue-chip performers this year, up about 39% year to date, which can invite late-year rebalancing. 3
Company-specific headlines were sparse, leaving the stock to trade largely with the broader tape. In year-end conditions, that can mean outsized moves on modest flows rather than fresh fundamentals.
In regulatory disclosures, an amended Form 4 filed Monday showed IBM director Martha E. Pollack corrected an earlier insider report, saying a prior filing omitted 4.283 “Promised Fee Shares” — deferred board fees linked to IBM stock — due to an administrative error. The filing said the deferred units are paid out after retirement in stock or cash. 4
Form 4 filings track insiders’ stock-related transactions and amendments typically reflect corrections rather than new buying or selling. They rarely drive day-to-day price action, but investors monitor them for changes in insider exposure.
Looking ahead, the next major scheduled catalyst is IBM’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which the company has listed for January 28, 2026 (a preliminary date). Investors will be watching for updates on software momentum, consulting demand and cash generation as corporate tech budgets reset for 2026. 5
Before then, traders expect IBM to remain sensitive to broad market positioning and rate expectations, with liquidity conditions likely to dominate into the year-end close. Round-number levels near $300 are also in focus as investors gauge whether the stock stabilizes into the new year.
