Operational Excellence (OPEX) Insight – Tuesday - February 24, 2026: IBM Stock Suffers Biggest One-Day Drop in 25 Years After New AI Breakthrough Sparks Automation Concerns.
Góc Nhìn Vận Hành Xuất Sắc – Thứ Ba, Ngày 24/02/2026: Cổ Phiếu IBM Giảm Mạnh Nhất 25 Năm Sau Bước Tiến AI Mới: Thị Trường Lo Ngại Làn Sóng Tự Động Hóa.
Welcome To Operational Excellence (OPEX) Insight Article For The Paid Subscriber-Only Edition.
This is the bilingual post in English and Vietnamese. Vietnamese is below.
Đây là bài viết song ngữ Anh-Việt. Tiếng Việt ở bên dưới.
English
PART 1 – OFFICIAL INFORMATION
In a recent trading session, IBM shares recorded their sharpest decline in more than 25 years, marking a notable event for the global technology market. According to Reuters, shares of International Business Machines (IBM) fell by more than 13% in a single trading day, the deepest decline since October 2000. This development occurred shortly after startup Anthropic announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of automatically modernizing COBOL systems, raising major concerns about IBM’s traditional business model, enterprise technology services, and its long-term competitiveness in the AI era.
According to Reuters, the AI tool developed by Anthropic enables the automatic analysis of COBOL source code, identifies system interdependencies, proposes migration pathways to modern platforms, and significantly reduces implementation time, technical costs, and human resource requirements compared with traditional methods. For decades, COBOL has remained the core foundation of numerous systems in banking, insurance, finance, government, and large enterprises, and has also been a key source of stable revenue for IBM through system maintenance services, digital transformation consulting, and IT infrastructure modernization. As a result, the emergence of an AI solution capable of replacing much of the manual process prompted investors to reassess the company’s overall growth outlook.
Immediately after the announcement, selling pressure on IBM shares intensified, with trading volumes rising well above multi-month averages. Reuters reported that the stock closed at a significantly lower level than the previous session, reflecting widespread concern among institutional investors. Several investment funds and financial institutions adjusted their investment recommendations and issued warnings about declining demand for legacy technology services amid the rapid expansion of AI-driven automation.
Experts cited by Reuters noted that the market’s negative reaction was not solely driven by Anthropic’s product, but also reflected broader long-term concerns about IBM’s ability to defend its competitive advantage in the face of AI disruption. In recent years, IBM has focused heavily on hybrid cloud computing, enterprise AI, data analytics, and digital consulting services, aiming to move away from its reliance on legacy systems. However, the latest volatility suggests that the market has not yet fully gained confidence in the speed and effectiveness of this strategic transformation.
At the same time, several other technology stocks in the fields of enterprise software, cybersecurity, and IT services also came under downward pressure, reflecting broader investor caution toward rapid technological change driven by AI. According to Reuters, this trend indicates that markets are entering a phase of reassessing the role of long-established technology companies in an environment characterized by large-scale automation, digitalization, and AI-based cost optimization.
The sharpest decline in IBM’s stock in more than two decades is not merely a short-term fluctuation, but a significant signal of structural change in the enterprise technology sector. Under the impact of AI-driven system modernization, process automation, and reduced reliance on traditional technical labor, business models built around legacy services are facing unprecedented pressure. According to Reuters, IBM’s case clearly illustrates how technological innovation can rapidly reshape market expectations, forcing large corporations to continuously redefine their operational strategies and competitive capabilities in the AI era.
