international business machine (IBM 1.56%) The stock has soared over the past three years, more than doubling in value. This trend remains despite a significant setback in 2026 as investors worry about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business. Here’s why now may still be a good time to buy IBM for long-term investors.
International business machines that change with the times
After recent capital losses, the main reason to buy IBM now is the tech giant’s quantum computing business. AI is the darling of Wall Street today, but quantum is waiting to join, if not take over, the spotlight. AI uses large amounts of computing power, and quantum has the potential to significantly increase available computing power.
Image source: Getty Images.
However, the reason to buy IBM stock is not directly related to quantum computing. It’s actually a symptom of a much larger story. To understand IBM, you really have to go back about 100 years to the company’s founding.
When IBM started, it was making things like scales. This is very different from quantum computing, which is important. IBM didn’t just come into being. It evolved and changed over time to become the business it is today. The company has proven time and time again that it can handle the technology that primarily business customers need and want.
IBM has a unique culture
Not many companies can survive as long as IBM. It requires a specific culture that endures beyond a single employee, generation, or technology. Investors are now worried that AI will hurt IBM’s business. That may be the case in the short term, but in the long term, the company is more likely to use AI as a tool to better serve its customers.
international business machine
Today’s changes
(-1.56%) $-3.90
current price
$246.47
Key data points
Market capitalization
$227 billion
daily range
$244.59 – $250.12
52 week range
$214.50 – $324.90
volume
236K
average volume
5.7M
gross profit
57.59%
dividend yield
2.78%
Quantum is an example of how concerns about AI can be exaggerated by IBM, given that quantum is likely to work in conjunction with AI. However, there are smaller ways in which AI could help.
In particular, IBM serves companies running older operating systems such as COBOL. While AI may be able to quickly address coding issues for such systems, it will not be able to provide the business logic and process flows that a particular customer needs to actually run their business. That’s where human consultants come in. With the help of AI, IBM will be able to work faster and more efficiently.
Wall Street is likely overreacting
There is a very real risk that IBM’s business will be negatively impacted by AI in the short term. But its investments in next-generation technologies like quantum and its long history of evolving with the technology sector suggest that IBM will remain relevant and prosperous for decades to come.
