IBM: Fundamentals Don't Back Up The Bull Run

Deep Value Investing
6.04K Followers
(7min)

Summary

  • I see International Business Machines' fundamentals and price action largely disconnected. To be honest, not a major surprise in today's markets, where I see this disconnection more and more.
  • This is quite evident since mid-2023 - the start of the AI boom.
  • Since then, IBM's revenue growth has been modest compared to some of its peers. Other fundamentals have shown similar, mediocre performance.
  • In my view, a mediocre performance is not enough to justify a 100% increase in IBM's share price for the past two years.
  • That said, I would never bet against momentum. I rate IBM as a hold for now. If fundamentals deteriorate in the near term (from mediocre to horrendous), then I will revisit my thesis.

Hand draws graph on whiteboard

Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Here is a nice example of yet another stock where fundamentals and price action seem mostly out of sync. I am talking about no other than the 100-year-old tech giant, International Business Machines Corporation (

This article was written by

6.04K Followers
Small deep value individual investor, with a modest private investment portfolio, split approx. 50%-50% between shares and call options. I have a B.Sc. in aeronautical engineering and over 6 years of experience as an engineering consultant in the aerospace sector. The latter statement is not relevant in any way whatsoever to my investment style, but I thought to add it for self-indulgent purposes. I have a contrarian investment style, highly risky, and often dealing with illiquid options. How illiquid? Well, you can land a Jumbo on the spread and still have clearance for take-off. From time to time, I buy shares, mostly to not be categorized as a degen by my fellow investor friends, therefore the 50%-50% allocation. My timeframe tends to be between 3-24 months.I like stocks that have experienced a recent sell-off due to non-recurrent events, particularly when insiders are buying shares at the new lower price. This is how I often screen through thousands of stocks, mainly in the US, although I may own shares in banana republics. I use fundamental analysis to check the health of companies that pass through my screening process, their leverage, and then compare their financial ratios with the sector, and industry median and average. I also do professional background checks of each insider who purchased shares after the recent sell-off. I use technical analysis to optimize the entry and exit points of my positions. I mainly use multicolor lines for support and resistance levels on weekly charts. From time to time I draw trend lines, taken for granted, in multicolor patterns. Note: I tried to keep my introduction as real, and authentic as possible. I dislike empty suits, high-level BS, deep-level BS, unnecessary jargon, and self-indulgent, third-person written introductions with an air of superiority.Thanks for reading my introduction!

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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