IBM 10-K Analysis: Why Real Earnings Growth Is 8%, Not 76%
IBM reported a 76% net income surge in FY2025 — its best earnings growth in over a decade. Two weeks later, the stock crashed 13%, erasing $31 billion, when Anthropic announced Claude Code could automate COBOL modernization. The 10-K reveals both reactions were wrong: two non-recurring events inflated earnings by $3.1 billion, true growth was 8-9%, and consulting — the supposed AI victim — is only 17.1% of IBM's profit. The real story is a quiet software takeover generating 61.7% of segment profit at 31.1% margins.