NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2026, 15:01 ET — Market closed.
- IBM shares closed Friday in the red and dipped further in after-hours trading.
- Next week’s earnings will reveal if software and consulting can withstand the volatility in the market.
- IBM Consulting is rolling out a new AI service based on its proprietary delivery platform.
Shares of International Business Machines Corp slipped 0.76% to close at $292.44 on Friday, then dipped slightly further to $291.99 in after-hours trading as the week wrapped up and investors eyed upcoming events. 1
Attention turns to Wednesday, when IBM is set to release its fourth-quarter results. The company also plans a conference call at 5 p.m. ET, according to its statement. 2
The timing is crucial—earnings season is in full swing, and guidance now moves stocks more than actual results. Investors are focused on how much AI chatter is turning into real revenue, and whether IBM can maintain margins as clients demand faster payoffs.
Broader markets showed little support heading into the weekend. The S&P 500 closed Friday with a modest gain, but the Dow slipped and small caps underperformed. It capped a choppy week marked by tariff warnings and deal scrapping. 3
IBM is pushing a focused message. Its consulting division has launched an “Enterprise Advantage Service,” giving clients access to an internal AI delivery platform designed to scale “agentic AI” — tools that do more than respond to prompts, they take action. The company claims AI assistants have boosted consultant productivity by up to 50%. Still, Mohamad Ali, head of IBM Consulting, admits that “achieving real value at scale remains a major challenge.” 4
Wall Street remains focused on the classic metrics for the quarter: revenue, profit, and guidance. According to a note from Zacks Equity Research cited by Nasdaq, the consensus stands at $4.33 per share on roughly $19.22 billion in revenue, with software sales expected to hit about $8.9 billion. 5
Even if IBM hits the mark, traders will zero in on the breakdown. Software growth usually commands a higher multiple. Consulting demand remains the wildcard, particularly if clients hold back spending or push major projects into Q2.
There’s a downside. If IBM’s outlook suggests clients are pulling back on discretionary spending, or if AI projects remain stuck in pilot phases without scaling, the stock could lose ground fast. The market, eager to punish anything that reads as “good, but not quite good enough,” would react harshly to a soft tone.
IBM’s earnings come during a packed week. According to Kiplinger’s calendar, Wednesday is jammed with reports from Meta, Tesla, IBM, and Starbucks, following a busy start that featured Microsoft. 6
Next on the docket: IBM’s January 28 earnings report, with a close watch on management’s outlook for 2026 demand—particularly in software and consulting linked to AI deployments.
