IBM Shares Plunge 13% as Anthropic’s AI Tool Threatens Legacy COBOL Business
IBM's stock suffered its steepest intraday drop since March 2020, plummeting 13% after AI startup Anthropic unveiled Claude Code—a tool designed to automate COBOL modernization. The selloff reflects mounting investor concerns about AI's disruptive potential for legacy tech providers.
February's 26% decline marks IBM's worst monthly performance in over half a century. Financial institutions and governments relying on COBOL-powered mainframes now face cheaper alternatives to IBM's labor-intensive modernization services.
Anthropic's breakthrough compounds IBM's strategic dilemma: how to embrace AI disruption while protecting $2.2 billion in quarterly infrastructure revenue. The market's violent reaction suggests skepticism about Big Blue's ability to pivot quickly enough.
