IBM Common StockIBMCOMMENTDec 17, 2014Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jul 31, 2026. Market Open.
We had these stocks that were growing off of AI, and they've been delivering spectacular growth. But they've also had spectacular increases in share prices, which becomes a potential source of volatility.
The question is whether valuations are too high given projected growth? As we've seen here, some of the price adjustments can be pretty abrupt.
Growing from multiple angles, yet valuation still reasonable. Stable and embedded business complemented by new growth drivers. Consulting business helps companies implement AI, and that's where the real spending is. Strong in hybrid cloud, managing data across environments. Quantum computing already being used with potential for energy, healthcare, manufacturing.
Drop in February due to sector rotation and profit taking. Trades ~19x PE, attractive. Sees 30% upside from here to ~$317. Yield is 2.85%.
Hold on to it. At 4-5% growth, in the ballpark of the top players. He doesn't know its exposure to robotics. Street's pretty positive on it, about 20% upside. At 20x PE, not an aggressive valuation. Margins expected to stay healthy -- 60% gross margins, net income margins of close to 20%.
(Analysts’ price target is $314.00)
Gained a tremendous amount of benefit from a long 4-5 years of cost-cutting, and it was well orchestrated. They clearly articulated how they were going to cut costs to the benefit of the bottom line, and they did that. He has been very cautious on this for a number of years because you can only cut costs so much, before you start to cut to the bone and affect your ability to produce revenue. Revenue has really only grown low single digits for a very long time. The market was paying a multiple much higher than that for growth that had much more sustainability.