• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America

2

The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament

3

Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium

1

'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America

2

The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament

3

Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
TechIBM

Despite IBM’s wild ride on the stock market, Warren Buffett remains optimistic

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 10, 2015, 3:18 PM ET
The logo of IBM is seen at their booth p
The logo of IBM is seen at their booth prior to the opening of the CeBIT IT fair on March 5, 2012 in Hanover, central Germany.Photograph by Odd Andersen — AFP/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

IBM’s stock has taken a wild ride over the past few weeks ever since the legacy giant reported its thirteenth straight decline in quarterly revenue, but that doesn’t seem to bother legendary CEO and investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett spoke to CNBC on Monday to talk about IBM (IBM) among other things, and when asked about IBM’s shaky stock performance, he casually responded, “I feel fine.”

In late July after IBM reported its weak earnings, the company’s stock dropped nearly 6% to $163.07, down from the $173.27 the day before. According to CNBC, Buffet lost roughly $700 million from the stock drop with Berkshire Hathaway owning about 79.57 million shares of IBM.

As of this Monday, the company’s stock is currently trading at $157.31.

While some investors may seem a bit worried about IBM’s declining stock price as the company tries to invest heavily into cloud computing and data analytic technology to eventually boost profits and make up for declining personal computer sales, Buffett is taking a more optimistic look.

“I love it when [a company’s stock] goes down,” Buffett said, hinting that he might be buying more IBM stock in the next few days. “It means if I want to buy more stock, and you can look at our 13F in a few days, it means I get to buy it cheaper.”

Buffett explained that he’s “not a seller of stock” and that he isn’t looking to make a quick buck off a fast-rising stock price once he makes a purchase. Instead, he’s looking at the longer term, like five to ten years down the road, for the price to go up.

 

That’s the type of optimism that IBM seems to be banking on as it undergoes a reinvention that sees heavy investing in areas like cloud computing, big data, and security. IBM CFO Martin Schroeter told investors in July that the company hopes that those areas of investment will account for 40% of company sales by 2018 and bring in $40 billion in revenue.

While the projections are hopeful, analysts have expressed concern that IBM’s investments are not paying off fast enough for them to be satisfied and the company keeps reporting quarterly revenue declines.

Buffett is known to buck conventional wisdom as Berkshire’s latest $37.2 billion acquisition of Precision Castparts, announced on Monday, demonstrates. Industrial goods manufactuer Precision Castparts saw its stock tank this year because of low oil prices, Fortune’s Geoff Colvin reported. But where investors saw trouble, “Buffett saw a strong long-term business at a bargain price,” Colvin wrote.

Time will tell if Buffet’s investment in IBM will pay off. He’s at least willing to wait.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

For more on IBM, check out the following video:

[fortune-brightcove videoid=4346535060001]

 

 

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Want to earn nearly $100,000 within 5 years of graduating? Study engineering, Fed research says
SuccessThe Promotion Playbook
Want to earn nearly $100,000 within 5 years of graduating? Study engineering, Fed research says
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 12, 2026
3 hours ago
A girl looking at her laptop screen
InnovationEducation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
3 hours ago
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
Big TechTech
Peter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them rich
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 12, 2026
3 hours ago
Zhenghua Yang
SuccessSmall Business
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeJuly 12, 2026
3 hours ago
Photo: James Murdoch
Big TechJames Murdoch
James Murdoch may have reaped as much as $7.5 billion from his pre-IPO investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceX
By Claire AtkinsonJuly 12, 2026
5 hours ago
On the left, a black and white photo of Jim Kavanaugh playing soccer in the 1980s. On the right, a modern headshot of Kavanaugh wearing a blue suit jacket
SuccessCareers
This former U.S. soccer player built a $20 billion-a-year company. Now, he says resilience matters more than talent—and points to Lionel Messi as proof
By Preston ForeJuly 12, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America
Banking
'The first time ever in my career': Senior Citi executive on why the ultrawealthy want to diversify away from America
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 11, 2026
1 day ago
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
Middle East
The U.S. and Iran can't agree on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The solution could be straight out of the Old Testament
By Jason MaJuly 11, 2026
15 hours ago
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
Environment
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 10, 2026
2 days ago
Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences
Success
Americans are quietly abandoning the daily habit that billionaires say set them up for success—and it could have lasting consequences
By Preston ForeJuly 11, 2026
1 day ago
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
Success
Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts
By Emma BurleighJuly 9, 2026
3 days ago
U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts
Economy
U.S. Treasury has borrowed $155 billion every month of this fiscal year—and is now paying $24 billion a week in interest on its debts
By Eleanor PringleJuly 10, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.