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IBM stock lost 26% over the past three months, a period in which the S&P 500 gained 4.8%.
Management acknowledged on the July 22, 2026 earnings call that second-quarter results fell short of expectations, attributing the shortfall primarily to tens of large deals that failed to close on time.
Executives stated that customers delayed rather than canceled these transactions, though they noted that only about a third of the delayed deals had closed within three weeks of the call.
This partial recovery was viewed as a positive indication that the postponements were temporary, though not yet definitive proof. The delay in deal closures coincided with a sharp slowdown in growth.
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