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IBM falls despite posting better-than-expected Q1 results

Big Blue fell in after-hours trading despite reporting better-than-expected Q1 results, as it didn’t include in the release an internal metric it typically discloses to track the progress of its AI business. IBM reported: 

  • Q1 revenue of $15.92 billion vs. the $15.63 billion FactSet consensus estimate.

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $1.91 vs. the $1.81 consensus expectation.

  • Sales of $7.05 billion at its key, high-margin software segment vs. a $6.98 billion consensus of nine analyst estimates.

  • Sales of $3.33 billion in its infrastructure unit, which houses its growing AI mainframe business, vs. a $3.13 billion consensus estimate.

Unlike recent earnings statements, the company made no mention of an internal metric it used to track its progress in AI, which it called its “generative AI book of business.” That metric stood at $12.5 billion at the end of 2025, per the company.

The infrastructure business is of acute interest to the market, after AI giant Anthropic announced in February that Claude Code could efficiently modernize code bases in the COBOL programming language, which serves as a cornerstone of IBM’s enterprise mainframe business. The language is still widely used in certain industries, such as airlines and finance. (ATMs, for instance, run almost entirely on COBOL.) 

Anthropic’s COBOL announcement cut the legs out from under IBM. The stock plunged 13% on February 23, the day of the announcement — its worst daily drop in more than 25 years. And it was down roughly 15% for the year through the end of trading Wednesday.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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