IBM warning sends software and consulting stock prices reeling

IBM shares plunged after CEO Krishna warned Q2 revenue and adjusted EPS would miss consensus, with preliminary revenue $17.2B vs $17.85B expected.

Bearish near-term bias until the July 22 call clarifies how much of the shortfall was delayed versus lost.

The article cites specific preliminary Q2 figures and a CEO letter explaining infrastructure weakness from late-June hardware pull-forward, which can reverse if budgets normalize.

ServiceNow fell nearly 7% in sympathy trading after IBM’s warning, despite no results reported that morning.

Likely volatile with sentiment; direction depends on whether the sector read-through is confirmed by other prints.

The article attributes NOW’s move to sympathy trading rather than NOW-specific fundamentals.

Salesforce dropped about 5% in sympathy trading following IBM’s Q2 shortfall warning, with no Salesforce results reported that morning.

Near-term downside pressure likely persists while the market treats the read-across as credible.

The move is described as sympathy trading, so the catalyst is IBM-driven sentiment.

Accenture shares fell roughly 8% in sympathy trading after IBM’s warning, despite no Accenture-specific news in the article.

Watch for stabilization if the July 22 call frames the issue as temporary timing rather than structural weakness.

The article links the move to sector read-through, not an ACN-specific event.

Cognizant Technology Solutions dropped about 7% in sympathy trading after IBM’s Q2 miss warning, with no CTSH results reported that morning.

Short-term pressure likely until sector confirmation from upcoming earnings.

The article frames CTSH’s move as sympathy, implying correlation rather than company-specific deterioration.

Adobe fell 3% or more in sympathy trading after IBM’s warning, even though it did not report results that morning.

Potential for continued volatility if the market extends the read-across to other software names.

The article provides only the magnitude and timing of the move, not a direct linkage to ADBE fundamentals.

Workday dropped 3% or more in sympathy trading following IBM’s Q2 shortfall warning, despite no Workday results that morning.

Near-term downside bias until earnings season data either confirms or refutes the timing narrative.

The move is described as sympathy trading without additional WDAY-specific information.

HubSpot fell 3% or more in sympathy trading after IBM’s warning, with no HubSpot results reported that morning.

Likely choppy; direction depends on whether other software prints align with the timing story.

The article does not provide HUBS-specific catalysts.