IBM Stock Plunges as Clients Shift Spending Priorities

IBM's stock price has plummeted by nearly 25% in just one month, from 292.85 euros to 196.58 euros, a far cry from its June high.

The company's preliminary profit warning in July was the immediate trigger for the sell-off, but deeper issues with corporate clients' spending priorities are also at play.

These clients have been opting for data-center capacity ahead of rising hardware and storage prices, rather than committing fresh capital to IBM's mainframe and software divisions.

This 'timing effect' has dragged second-quarter revenues below analyst expectations and sent the shares to a 52-week low of 175.14 euros in late July.