IBM set to release full Q2 results today after historic stock crash

IBM International Business Machines Corporation ↘ 0.85% suffered the worst single-day stock decline in its 115-year history on July 14, after the company released preliminary second-quarter results that fell well short of Wall Street expectations, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in market value and prompting multiple securities fraud investigations.

A Shortfall Eight Days Early

The company pre-announced Q2 2026 results eight days ahead of its scheduled earnings call, reporting revenue of $17.2 billion — up just 1% year over year but below the $17.86 billion analyst consensus. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.93, also missing the $3.01 estimate. Shares closed at roughly $217, down about 25%, according to CNBC and Forbes.forbes+3

In a letter to investors, CEO Arvind Krishna attributed the miss to a sudden shift in enterprise spending. "In the last few weeks of June, we saw clients shift their quarterly capex spend toward servers, storage, and memory purchases to secure supply-constrained infrastructure ahead of expected price increases," Krishna wrote. Infrastructure revenue fell 7% during the quarter, dragging results even as software revenue grew 5%. GAAP gross profit margin slipped to 57.7%, down a full percentage point from a year earlier.proactiveinvestors+1

Krishna described the results as "disappointing" and acknowledged that IBM had not adapted quickly enough to the shifting landscape. Fortune reported that the CEO's blunt admission — "We did not adapt and move quickly enough" — failed to reassure investors.fortune+1

Fraud Probes Mount

The scale of the decline has drawn scrutiny from securities lawyers. Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announced an investigation on July 21 into whether IBM made false or misleading statements about its sales pipeline ahead of the preannouncement. Pomerantz LLP disclosed a similar probe on July 16, and Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC followed on July 20. Each firm is examining whether IBM violated federal securities laws by misrepresenting the health of its business to investors.morningstar+3

Full Results Due Today

IBM is scheduled to release its full Q2 2026 financial results and host an earnings conference call later today, July 22, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Investors will be watching closely for updated full-year guidance and any further explanation of the infrastructure shortfall. Reuters reported that the episode represents "the starkest sign yet of AI's growing toll on the sector," as businesses increasingly prioritize data-center hardware over traditional software spending.reuters+2