NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 11:30 ET — Regular session
- IBM shares down about 0.5% in late morning trade, hovering near the $300 level.
- Investors await the Fed’s meeting minutes due at 2 p.m. ET for clues on the 2026 rate path.
- An SEC filing showed a director amended a prior insider report tied to deferred board fees.
International Business Machines (IBM.N) shares slipped about 0.5% on Tuesday. At 11:15 a.m. ET, the stock was down $1.63 at $304.11, after trading between $302.73 and $306.24 and opening at $306.15. Volume was about 462,000 shares.
The move matters now because year-end trading is typically thin, and modest shifts in risk appetite can push large-cap names around. For IBM, the market’s view on interest rates also feeds into how investors price steady, cash-generating tech stocks.
Investors were awaiting the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes — the detailed record of policymakers’ debate — from the Dec. 9-10 gathering, due at 2 p.m. ET. The Fed cut rates by a quarter point to a 3.50%-3.75% range, and the minutes are expected to shed light on divisions over the 2026 policy path. 1
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower in light year-end volumes as big tech names retreated for a second day, Reuters reported. “I wouldn’t try to make too much out of anything that happens in a holiday-shortened week and very light trading volume,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. 2
IBM’s own news flow was quieter, but an amended Form 4 filing — an insider ownership disclosure required by the U.S. SEC — showed director David N. Farr corrected a prior report on deferred board fees. The filing updated the number of “Promised Fee Shares” acquired on June 30 to 200.283 after a prior Form 4 omitted 4.283 shares; promised fee shares are stock units delivered later when directors elect to defer fees into equity rather than cash. 3
Separately, IBM said former chief executive Louis Gerstner died at 83, with CEO Arvind Krishna announcing the news in an email to employees. Gerstner, credited with steering IBM through a crisis in the 1990s, ran the company from 1993 to 2002. 4
For traders, the bigger swing factor is still the macro backdrop, with Fed messaging feeding directly into equity risk appetite. IBM often trades as a steadier name inside tech, but it tends to track sector moves when investors pull back from risk.
Technically, IBM remains close to the $300 level that many investors treat as a psychological line in the sand. The day’s low near $303 leaves little room for sentiment to weaken if broader tech selling accelerates.
The next IBM-specific catalyst is its fourth-quarter earnings announcement on Jan. 28, 2026, a preliminary date listed on the company’s investor events calendar. Investors will listen for updates on software demand and consulting signings as customers weigh AI projects against tighter budgets. 5
IBM has been using dealmaking to build out its cloud and AI stack, and earlier this month it agreed to buy data streaming firm Confluent for $11 billion. The transaction is slated to close by mid-2026, Reuters reported. 6
Stocks are set for a normal session on New Year’s Eve, but U.S. exchanges will be closed on Jan. 1 for the holiday. With the calendar thinning out, IBM traders are likely to watch the Fed minutes and broad tech sentiment for the next near-term direction. 7
