New York, Jan 21, 2026, 05:07 EST — Premarket
- IBM shares plunged 4.8% Tuesday, closing at $291.35—a steep fall for the Dow giant
- IBM rolled out new “agentic AI” services and partnerships just as markets shifted into a risk-off mood
- Evercore ISI bumped up its price target for IBM to $330 ahead of the company’s earnings report on Jan. 28
Shares of International Business Machines Corporation dropped $14.57, or 4.8%, closing at $291.35 in the latest session. IBM stock now sits under pressure heading into Wednesday’s trading.
The blue-chip Dow took a hit, with IBM’s drop, combined with 3M’s losses, dragging the index down by about 150 points, according to MarketWatch’s analysis. 1
Investors trimmed their U.S. stock holdings Tuesday as President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on eight European nations, shaking risk appetite and sending the Cboe Volatility Index to its highest level in eight weeks. “The geopolitical risks … are re-emerging,” noted Wasif Latif, chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners. 2
Just days ago, IBM introduced a new consulting service focused on scaling “agentic AI,” which are systems built to act on behalf of users rather than simply respond to queries. “Many organizations are investing in AI, but achieving real value at scale remains a major challenge,” said Mohamad Ali, senior vice president and head of IBM Consulting. 3
At Davos, IBM and telecom giant e& announced they are integrating agentic AI into e&’s governance and compliance processes, leveraging IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate and OpenPages. “Our ambition is to move beyond isolated AI use cases toward enterprise-scale agentic AI that is trusted [and] governed,” said e& group CEO Hatem Dowidar. 4
IBM expanded its consumer AI presence Tuesday with the launch of “GRAMMY IQ built with IBM watsonx,” developed alongside the Recording Academy. The new platform leverages Grammys data to offer interactive quizzes. “Our partnership with IBM continues to push the boundaries of how technology can … deepen the world’s connection to music,” said Adam Roth, executive vice president of global partnerships at the academy. 5
Analysts remain bullish heading into earnings. Evercore ISI bumped its IBM price target to $330 from $315 on Tuesday, maintaining an “outperform” rating. The firm cited strength in the mainframe upgrade cycle, better consulting results, and ongoing cost cuts. They’re expecting revenue around $19.2 billion and earnings per share near $4.29. 6
Not all the action centered on IBM. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley grew cautious on North American IT hardware, flagging concerns that slower enterprise demand and rising component costs may weigh on earnings forecasts. Its latest survey showed hardware budgets are set to grow a mere 1% in 2026. 7
IT services stocks took a hit in the selloff, with Accenture dropping 4.7% on Tuesday. This sharp move highlights how “enterprise tech” can quickly behave like a risk asset amid shifting macroeconomic headlines. 8
The next move in IBM stock might depend less on Davos chatter and more on the actual numbers. Should tariff threats turn into real policy, companies could quickly rethink their spending, putting IBM’s consulting business and infrastructure demand at risk. A cautious outlook for 2026 could seal the deal.
IBM will release its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 28, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET, the company announced. 9
