Evercore Reaffirms IBM at $275 After Sector-Wide Tech Slide

Evercore ISI kept its "Outperform" rating and $275 price target on IBM intact Friday, a day after a broad technology selloff had dragged the stock down 2.84%. The brokerage pointed to software, consulting, infrastructure and quantum computing as the pillars underpinning its view, according to media reports. No company-specific trigger was identified for IBM's Thursday decline; the pressure came from the wider sector. On Friday, the shares slipped another 0.1%.

The retreat hit artificial-intelligence names and companies tied to data-center construction, with reports citing concerns that election outcomes could slow data-center development. Worries about AI spending and the political backdrop were also cited as drivers of the sector-wide selling.

Quantum System Two Goes Live in Chicago

Away from the market turmoil, IBM unveiled a Quantum System Two in Chicago alongside the University of Chicago, the State of Illinois and the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. The machine, housed in the Hyde Park Labs, is operational and ranks as IBM's first quantum computer in Illinois and the most advanced system the company currently offers. It is slated to serve as a cornerstone of the National Quantum Algorithm Center.

A second initiative targets error correction in quantum computing. IBM, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Quantum Science Center and AMD have launched a joint development platform linking IBM quantum hardware to Umbra, the lab's high-performance computing system. The setup pairs IBM's 120-qubit Nighthawk processor with AMD-powered compute, bringing quantum machines and classical high-performance systems under one roof for collaborative error-correction work.

AI Agent Controls and a Tennis Extension

IBM also rolled out features for managing identities, access rights and the control of AI agents, including enhancements to HashiCorp Vault and capabilities for detecting agents within watsonx Orchestrate.

Roughly two weeks ago, IBM and the United States Tennis Association extended their partnership by five years. The deal keeps IBM as the official AI and cloud partner of the US Open through 2031, continuing the two organizations' collaboration in those technology areas.