{"id":215476,"date":"2024-03-21T00:17:11","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T00:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/21\/ibm-stock-nears-an-all-time-high-and-it-may-have-something-to-do-with-its-ceo-replacing-as-many-workers-with-ai-as-possible\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:20:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:20:16","slug":"ibm-stock-nears-an-all-time-high-and-it-may-have-something-to-do-with-its-ceo-replacing-as-many-workers-with-ai-as-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/21\/ibm-stock-nears-an-all-time-high-and-it-may-have-something-to-do-with-its-ceo-replacing-as-many-workers-with-ai-as-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"IBM stock nears an all-time high\u2014and it may have something to do with its CEO replacing as many workers with AI as possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.fortune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1928809248-e1710974102229.jpg?w=2048\" \/><\/p>\n<p>IBM\u2019s repositioning around AI may be paying off for its stock as it nears an all-time high amid its CEO\u2019s ambitious plans for the technology.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The company\u2019s shares have skyrocketed 19% since the start of the year and closed at $193.96 on Wednesday, just 6% off of its all-time high of $206.31 from 2013. Year-to-date, shares of the technology company have outpaced all of the Magnificent Seven companies, excluding <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/02\/24\/nvidia-stock-target-price-chart-forecast\/#:~:text=That's%20the%20message%20underscored%20by,valuation%20to%20over%20%242%20trillion.\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">red hot chipmaker Nvidia<\/a> and social media giant Meta.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-datawrapper wp-block-embed-datawrapper\">\n<p><iframe aria-label=\"Interactive line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-5ESM5\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/5ESM5\/1\/\" style=\"border:none\" title=\"IBM stock nears highest historical level\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In an interview last year, IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna said he could see thousands of employees in \u201cback-office\u201d roles like human resources <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/05\/01\/ibm-ceo-ai-artificial-intelligence-back-office-jobs-pause-hiring\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">replaced<\/a> by AI. Although he later <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/10\/03\/ibms-ceo-automate-repetitive-white-collar-job-not-cutting-workers\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">backtracked<\/a>, saying AI will create more jobs than it replaces, he again emphasized that \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/08\/22\/ibm-ceo-arvind-krishna-ai-shrinking-workforces\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">back office, white-collar work<\/a>,\u201d will be the first to be affected.<\/p>\n<p>His own company used AI to reduce the number of employees working on relatively manual HR-related work to about 50 from 700 previously, which allowed them to focus on other things, he wrote in an April <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/04\/20\/ibm-ceo-work-ai-artificial-intelligence-careers-tech-arvind-krishna\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">commentary<\/a> piece for <em>Fortune<\/em>. And in its January fourth quarter earnings, the company said it would cut costs in 2024 by $3 billion, up from $2 billion previously, in part by laying off thousands of workers\u2014some of which it later chalked up to AI influence.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This rebalancing is driven by increases in productivity and our continued push to align our workforce with the skills most in demand among our clients, especially areas such as AI and hybrid cloud,\u201d an IBM spokesperson told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2024\/03\/12\/ibm_reportedly_laying_off_staff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \"><em>The Register<\/em><\/a> in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Reminiscent of the <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/02\/26\/retail-investors-fundrise-shares-in-anthropic-ai-startup\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">late \u201890s<\/a>, investors have clamored to cram money into nearly any company with AI involvement (so much so that the SEC has cracked down on so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/03\/18\/ai-washing-sec-charges-companies-false-misleading-statments\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">\u201cAI washing\u201d<\/a>). So far in 2023, this trend has led to surges in the shares for <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/alphabet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">Google<\/a>, which has its own AI chatbot, and <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/microsoft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">Microsoft<\/a>, which has a profit-sharing deal with AI leader OpenAI.<\/p>\n<p>But while those companies have attracted the most buzz around their AI capabilities, IBM has been bulking up its own AI products and quietly outperforming Google and Microsoft in the public market.<\/p>\n<p>The 112-year-old tech company has been researching and developing its own artificial intelligence technology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/watson#:~:text=IBM's%20research%20in%20AI%20goes,Jennings%20in%20the%20Jeopardy!%20Challenge.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">since the 1950s<\/a> and garnered significant attention when its supercomputer Watson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/17\/science\/17jeopardy-watson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">beat <em>Jeopardy!<\/em> champion Ken Jennings<\/a> on live television in 2011. But despite its head start, IBM\u2019s AI efforts have been outshined by OpenAI, which sparked the current AI mania when it released its chatbot <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/02\/05\/sam-altman-says-chatgpt-should-be-much-less-lady-openai\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">ChatGPT<\/a> in late 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Still, through changes spearheaded by CEO Krishna, who ascended to the top job in 2020, IBM has worked to capitalize on its long-standing efforts by repositioning its business around the cloud and AI. In May, the company <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ibm.com\/2023-05-09-IBM-Unveils-the-Watsonx-Platform-to-Power-Next-Generation-Foundation-Models-for-Business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">launched Watsonx<\/a>, a platform for developing internal AI models aimed at enterprise customers. It has also dedicated more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2023-05-09\/ibm-launches-ai-development-platform-with-renewed-watson-brand?sref=2jPYL79S\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">1,000 consultants<\/a> to help customers like Spanish Bank BBVA and German software company <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/sap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">SAP<\/a> SE develop the models using their own data. Internally at IBM, three-quarters of its chip design is already done by AI, Krishna has said <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/10\/03\/ibms-ceo-automate-repetitive-white-collar-job-not-cutting-workers\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">previously<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The company may already be gaining traction for its AI efforts. During its fourth quarter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibm.com\/downloads\/cas\/WPXDZK6G\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">earnings<\/a> call in January, Krishna said IBM\u2019s book of business had doubled from where it stood as of the third quarter, when it was in the \u201clow hundreds of millions.\u201d Analysts at <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/morgan-stanley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">Morgan Stanley<\/a> peg the value of its book of business at about $400 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur approach to AI for business is resonating,\u201d added Krishna in his prepared remarks.<\/p>\n<p>Morgan Stanley analysts led by Erik Woodring said in a January note that if IBM\u2019s AI operations emulate the payoff of its other big bet, its 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/red-hat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">Red Hat<\/a> acquisition, the business could be worth multiple billions in just four years.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the analysts cautioned that there are obstacles hampering IBM\u2019s momentum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]he question is whether this AI spending is entirely incremental, or cannibalistic of other areas customers spend with IBM,\u201d the analysts wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"subscriptionPlea\">Subscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fortune.com\/newsletters\/cfodaily?&amp;itm_source=fortune&amp;itm_medium=article_tout&amp;itm_campaign=cfo_daily\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"sc-47dba8f0-0 iRbseu styledLinkColor \">Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/03\/20\/ibm-stock-high-ceo-replacing-workers-ai\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] IBM\u2019s repositioning around AI may be paying off for its stock as it nears an all-time high amid its CEO\u2019s ambitious plans for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":215477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335537,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215476\/revisions\/335537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}