Technology

IBM Investors Should Beg CEO Ginni Rometty to Leave

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 17, 2018 6:15 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:20 pm

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) posted another quarter that shows how far behind the major players in tech it has fallen. The company’s CEO, Ginni Rometty, has been at the helm of IBM since the start of 2012. Over that period, IBM has been nearly ruined. Its latest earnings disclosed revenue down 2% to $18.8 billion, and its net income fell 1% to $2.78 billion.

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Rometty had the gall to say:

IBM’s progress and momentum this year in the emerging, high-value segments of the IT industry are driven by our innovative technology, deep industry expertise and commitment to trust and security. Our leadership in the technology and services that deliver hybrid cloud, AI, blockchain, analytics and security has helped drive our overall performance, and is helping our clients unleash the full business value of these innovations.

Every part of the statement is an exaggeration. Among IBM’s major lines of revenue, three fell from the same quarter of last year. Two were up 0.9% each.

IBM’s stock fell 4.4% after hours to $138.70, just above its 52-week low. Shares have fallen 17% in the past five years, compared to a 60% rise in the S&P 500, a 400% rise at rival Amazon.com and a 210% rise in the stock of competitor Microsoft.

IBM recently has hit the market with a slew of press releases about its new products. Among them were the release of its Multicloud Manager, a public and private cloud tool, and the AI OpenScale, which is meant to help the management of artificial intelligence products. None of it matters, at least to investors.

IBM is a proven serial failure, and without a new CEO, that will not change.