ima_daily5min

IBM: 2Q revenue is lower than expected, corporate customers’ capital expenditure priorities are adjusted, short-term pressure, but the long-term trend remains unchanged (Morgan Sta

2026-07-16·ima-daily5min-0716-35-d3a4e19a4c

Street Signal | IBM: 2Q revenue is lower than expected, corporate customers’ capital expenditure priorities are adjusted, short-term pressure, but the long-term trend remains unchanged (Morgan Sta

Morgan Stanley reported that IBM's second-quarter revenue was 5% lower than expected, its software and infrastructure businesses were lower than expected, and its consulting business was in line with expectations.

The performance fluctuations stem from enterprise customers prioritizing capital expenditures on storage and server products, squeezing expenditures related to mainframe hardware, transaction processing, data and automation software. IBM believes this trend is a short-term optimization rather than a long-term trend.

Direct beneficiary targets from the strong demand for enterprise servers and storage include DELL, HPE, NTAP, etc., while indirect beneficiary targets include Seagate (STX.US) and Western Digital (WDC.US), among which Seagate is the preferred target.

The market has expected pressure on IBM's short-term performance, but it may not have paid enough attention to the sustainability of the capital expenditure priority adjustment of corporate customers and the impact on other benefit targets.

One sentence conclusion: IBM's short-term performance is affected by the adjustment in the capital expenditure priorities of corporate customers, but the long-term trend remains unchanged; the strengthening demand for enterprise servers and storage is the focus of the market, and storage manufacturers such as Seagate are indirect beneficiaries.

Positive/negative: Positive for enterprise server and storage manufacturers such as DELL, HPE, NTAP, Seagate (STX.US), and Western Digital (WDC.US). It puts pressure on IBM's short-term stock price, but the long-term impact is limited.

The market has expected pressure on IBM's performance, but the benefits to storage manufacturers may be underpriced, and Seagate is the preferred target. Catalysts:

1) IBM's subsequent quarterly results to verify the sustainability of capital expenditure adjustments;

2) Quarterly financial reports from enterprise server and storage manufacturers;

3) Memory price trends.

Full text

IBM: 2Q revenue is lower than expected, corporate customers’ capital expenditure priorities are adjusted, short-term pressure, but the long-term trend remains unchanged (Morgan Sta

Morgan Stanley reported that IBM's second-quarter revenue was 5% lower than expected, its software and infrastructure businesses were lower than expected, and its consulting business was in line with expectations. The performance fluctuations stem from enterprise customers prioritizing capital expenditures on storage and server products, squeezing expenditures related to mainframe hardware, transaction processing, data and automation software. IBM believes this trend is a short-term optimization rather than a long-term trend. Direct beneficiary targets from the strong demand for enterprise servers and storage include DELL, HPE, NTAP, etc., while indirect beneficiary targets include Seagate (STX.US) and Western Digital (WDC.US), among which Seagate is the preferred target. The market has expected pressure on IBM's short-term performance, but it may not have paid enough attention to the sustainability of the capital expenditure priority adjustment of corporate customers and the impact on other benefit targets. One sentence conclusion: IBM's short-term performance is affected by the adjustment in the capital expenditure priorities of corporate customers, but the long-term trend remains unchanged; the strengthening demand for enterprise servers and storage is the focus of the market, and storage manufacturers such as Seagate are indirect beneficiaries. Positive/negative: Positive for enterprise server and storage manufacturers such as DELL, HPE, NTAP, Seagate (STX.US), and Western Digital (WDC.US). It puts pressure on IBM's short-term stock price, but the long-term impact is limited. The market has expected pressure on IBM's performance, but the benefits to storage manufacturers may be underpriced, and Seagate is the preferred target. Catalysts: 1) IBM's subsequent quarterly results to verify the sustainability of capital expenditure adjustments; 2) Quarterly financial reports from enterprise server and storage manufacturers; 3) Memory price trends.

← Back to archive