IBM: AI operating model and quantum chip foundry ensure the comeback

International Business Machines (IBM) is an interesting candidate for me for several reasons and I now believe it will make a comeback to its all-time high. The Middle East conflict recently resulted in a cautious confirmation of forecasts, with the software outlook for 2026 being raised to over 10%. The mainframe business also achieved record growth of 48% as the new z17 mainframe with local AI inference drives modernizations. There is also the consulting business, where over 30% of the order backlog comes from generative AI…