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IBM shares in focus on 23% plunge as CEO Krishna flags deal slippage tied to AI hardware spending

7/21/2026

IBM (IBM) shares are set for a 23% decline after chief executive Arvind Krishna flagged that large enterprise deals slipped as clients redirected capital into chips, servers, and memory.

The explanation points directly at AI infrastructure spending: buyers are front-loading hardware procurement before committing to the software and services contracts where IBM competes.

The next confirmable milestone is the formal guidance and pipeline commentary that quantifies how much of the deferred deal value remains in play.

Why large deals slipped Krishna's account identifies a specific spending shift.