IBM Shares Plunge 6.5% as Cloud Momentum Stalls

IBM fell 6.5% in premarket trading after reporting slower-than-expected growth in its cloud and AI software segments, marking its sharpest single-day drop in a year. Revenue from hybrid cloud operations missed analyst estimates amid weaker enterprise spending and currency headwinds. Management maintained full-year guidance but warned of near-term margin compression. Analysts view the results as a setback to IBM’s transition toward higher-growth digital services after its Watson AI revamp. Investors will watch Q4 pipeline stability before re-rating the stock.