IBM reported Q2 adjusted earnings per share of $2.93 and revenue of $17.2 billion on July 14, both falling short of analyst expectations of $3.01 EPS and $17.86 billion revenue. The stock tumbled 19.37% in pre-market trading, closing below $234 per share.
Chief Executive Arvind Krishna attributed the shortfall to customers redirecting capital expenditures toward hardware purchases, including servers, storage equipment, and memory chips, amid supply constraints and anticipated price increases. Several large deals that were expected to close in Q2 were delayed, further widening the earnings gap.