Jefferies upgrades IBM (IBM.US) rating to “buy”: 2026 is expected to benefit from software business growth

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the investment bank Jefferies upgraded the rating of IBM (IBM.US) from “neutral” to “buy” because the financial institution believes that IBM is expected to benefit from the growth of the software business in 2026. In an investor report, Jefferies analysts led by Brent Thill (Brent Thill) said, “The macro environment is shifting to a more positive trend. Technological transformation and accelerated artificial intelligence (AI) adoption trends are driving widespread demand growth. Management's statement has changed, and is more optimistic than at the beginning of 2025. This confidence is based on strong endogenous software growth, the realization of the synergy brought about by mergers and acquisitions, and the strategic victory achieved in generative AI consulting projects.”

Jefferies pointed out that many of the key acquisitions that IBM has completed or promoted in recent years are worth paying attention to, including the acquisition of HashiCorp completed in February last year, and the acquisition of Confluent (CFLT.US), which is still ongoing. Last month, Bank of America also stated that IBM's proposed deal to acquire Confluent “fits” the IT giant's existing cloud computing and artificial intelligence strategies.

The analyst added, “The integration of HashiCorp is complete, and we expect to achieve synergy and drive medium to high double-digit growth for HashiCorp and the entire automation product portfolio through IBM distribution channels. The ongoing Confluent acquisition will bring broad software synergies in areas such as hybrid cloud, AI, automation, and data, and help fill gaps in its real-time integration and security product portfolio.”